ArcelorMittal boss Lakshmi Mittal has expressed his ‘satisfaction’ over the progress made on a proposed oil refinery at Bathinda, India.
He said the proposed plant was on time and within budget. “I am not wholly pessimistic and am confident things can be done in our country.”
The Bathinda refinery, which is being built jointly by HPCL and Mittal Energy with a 49% stake each, will produce petroleum products complying Euro-IV emission norms, a 165MW captive power plant and a crude oil pipeline from Mundra.
Mr Mittal’s statement came days after the ArcelorMittal chairman said India was not ready for ‘mega’ steel projects, a reference to the almost four-year delay that his Jharkhand project has seen due to slow approvals for mine linkages.
ArcelorMittal had estimated an investment of INR1trillion ($21.5bn) for its new projects in Orissa and Jharkhand.
