Tata: No full stops here

Ranchi, Sept. 8: The Tatas today signed four MoUs with the Jharkhand government, three of which will see the industrial house investing Rs 53,000 crore over a period of nine years to expand the capacity of Tata Steel to produce 22 million tonnes of steel.

The company currently produces just 5 million tonnes.

The move is expected to generate an annual revenue of over Rs 6,000 crore for the state government.

The MoUs were signed by Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman and chief secretary P.P. Sharma in the presence of Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata and Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda.

The greenfield project of setting up a 12-million-tonne steel plant is expected to be completed between 36 and 54 months after all statutory clearances, mining lease and land are received from the government. The new projects will make Tatas the largest steel producer in the country.

Ratan Tata declared that the project was not directed at merely producing steel but to ensure development and prosperity of Jharkhand.

The Tatas also pledged to jointly set up a special export zone (SEZ) to manufacture more steel-based facilities, including automobile spare parts, which will both generate revenue and ensure employment. At a joint news conference after the signing ceremony, Tata agreed to explore the possibility of setting up a five-star hotel in the state capital and a technical university in Jharkhand.

Setting up a university is a different proposition than making steel, said Tata, but the industrial house would explore ways of setting up a technical university, in response to a request from the chief minister. Responding to yet another request from Munda, he promised to discuss the feasibility of the Taj group setting up a hotel here. 'We will try our best to see that Ranchi has a five-star hotel before the National Games begin here in 2007,' Tata said.

He hastened to add that he did not have any immediate plans about the technical university. 'This is a long-term plan which needs very careful thinking.'