Bhubaneswar, July 7: Public sector Neelachal Ispat Nigam (NINL) on Monday signed an agreement for a Rs 150-crore term loan with the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) for its proposed steel project at Duburi in Jajpur district.

NINL had received sanctions worth Rs 907 crore from six financial institutions and 12 scheduled banks, a company release said. Following the fresh agreement with IDBI, the lead bank for the project, the company would enter into similar agreements with other financial institutions and banks.

The pact was signed by NINL managing director Subrata Ray and IDBI deputy managing director SK Pai. The company had recently started civil construction work for the steel project at the Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex. The construction for the blast furnace foundation and other civil operations were on schedule, the release said.

It said officials from the Commonwealth Development Corporation, a UK-based financial institution in, recently visited the NINL site at Duburi to monitor the project's progress. The corporation had already conveyed their decision in principle to invest in the project by way of equity and loan. The corporation held discussions NINL officials.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.