Tata Metaliks awaits handover of land for foray into steel making

Kolkata, July 12 (UNI) Tata Metaliks is awaiting for handover of land from West Bengal government for diversification into steel making.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had promised Tata Metaliks top-brass of allocation of land to the company on "priority basis" in February 2005.

"We have not got the land yet. The state government has acquired some land but that has not been transferred to us. But, we have no doubt that the state government would give us the land we asked for," Tata Metaliks chairman T Mukherjee said here in the sidelines of the annual general meeting.

He did not mention how much the state government has acquired so far. Tata Metaliks had asked for 350 acres of land.

In February 2005, Tata Metaliks had announced its intention to set up a 0.5 million ton steel plant near its existing factory at Kharagpur when the company commissioned its second blast furnace.

The company had applied for land in March 2005.

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) was entrusted with the job of acquiring the land and handing it over to the company.

Mukherjee said alongwith a billet caster unit, a blast furnace would also be added to the Kharagpur unit.

However, he did not spell out the investment. "No estimate can be made unless we get the land," he added.

The chairman said that the move to diversify is in tandem with the company's target of achieving a turnover of Rs 2,500-2,800 crore by 2011.

Tata Metaliks has registered a turnover of about Rs 441 crore.

The company has declared a 60 per cent dividend for 2005-06.

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