TATA Metaliks facing delay in land acquisition in WB
ET reported that TATA Steel's subsidiary TATA Metaliks Limited is annoyed by the inordinate delay in acquiring land for its proposed mini steel plant in West Bengal, saying that the delay will definitely lead to an escalation in project cost.
Mr Harsh K Jha MD of TATA Metaliks said that "Three years have already passed. We are yet to get the land although we had paid 70% of land value in advance. Now we have been assured of getting the land by July 2008."
Mr Jha said that the cost of expansion was pegged between INR 700 crore and INR 900 crore. He added that "We are yet to rework the project cost but the delay is likely to increase it by 20% to 30%. Owing to monsoon, work on the project is only likely to begin around October 2008, even if the land is given to us by July 2008."
Meanwhile, Mr Nirupam Sen state commerce & industries minister said that "We have started the process of directly buying land from landowners for the TATA Metaliks project. After we complete the purchase, we will transfer it to the company."
It may be noted that TATA Metaliks had applied for 350 acres near its existing Kharagpur plant for expansion in February 2005. Against this, the government had assured of handing over the land by June 2007.
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