Shyam group to set up steel and power facility

Kolkata, February 6 SHYAM Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corp Ltd (WBIDC) on Monday to set up an 1.1 mtpa steel plant and a 1,000-mw captive facility in Jamuria near Asansol.

Shyam Steel Ltd (SSL), the flagship company of Shyam Group of Industries, will invest Rs 2,000 crore by mid-2009 — a part of its total investment kitty of Rs 9,900 crore for the first phase of its integrated steel and power complex.

The investment for the first phase of the project, to be set up on 1,500 acres, will be a mixed bag of debt and equity. It has planned to raise fresh capital via public offer and private placement. “We have planned to raise Rs 250 crore from the market,” said B Bushan Agarwal, vice-chairman and managing director.

While 40 per cent of the land required for the project is with the state government, the group has targeted to commission the facility within 42 months of getting the land. The group also announced the setting up a port at Puri with 12 million tonne capacity in a joint venture with Century Plyboards, entailing an investment of Rs 2,000 crore.