Bhubaneswar, July 16: Tata group’s ambitious Kalinga Nagar steel project will be commissioned in early 2014. Groundwork for the project has already been completed.

After meeting chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the Secretariat, Tata Steel managing director H.M. Nerurkar said: “The group has already invested Rs 10,000 crore in this project. We have a plan to spend Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 in the project. Groundwork for the project has already been completed. The project will be commissioned either in January or February 2014.”

In the first phase, the plant will have a production capacity of 3 to 3.5 million tonnes per annum which will be enhanced to six million tonnes per annum in the second phase. Official sources said all equipment for the project had already been purchased. Construction of a boundary wall for the steel plant has also been completed. The project is coming up in an area of 3,400 acres.

The project was mired in controversy in January 2006 when police opened fire killing 13 tribals in Kalinga Nagar while land acquisition process was going on. Later, a number of high profile leaders and activists visited the area to express solidarity with the tribals.

As the incident built up huge tension, there was apprehension about the future of the project. Later, the government intervened and the displaced people were ‘rehabilitated and adequately compensated’.

Nerurkar said that besides the Kalinga Nagar project, groundwork for the Gopalpur project is also going on smoothly. “We have got the CRZ clearance for the project. We are waiting for the environmental clearance for the project, which is likely to be obtained by October,” he said.