The project is being set-up at a cost of Rs 1,510 crore with nearly Rs 600 crore as equity, a company release said. The balance Rs 910 crore has been fully-tied as debt with leading financial instituions and banks. The equity is being contributed by MMTC, Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd (IPICOL), Mecon and some suppliers of plant and equipment. Leading financial institutions have shown interest in funding the project by way of equity. These institutions will either pick up equity on their own or arrange equity funding for the project.

MMTC, as the managing promoter of the project, will take up the responsibility of marketing the plant's products through its wide network in the domestic and overseas markets. At the current price levelsthis will provide a business turnover of around Rs 1,100 crore annually to MMTC.

The project's progress was recently reviewed in a meeting chaired by secretary steel in the first week of September 1998, when specific targets were fixed for completion of critical work by the two main contractors of the project namely HSCL and Mecon, both of which fall under the ministry of steel.

The civil and erection work of the project is being executed by a consortium comprising Larsen and Toubro, Hindustan Steel Construction Ltd (HSCL), Gammon India, Mukand and Kirloskar. About 200 people are working at the site. Orders for plant and equipment with suppliers amount to Rs 400 crore