Bhuabneswar: Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group on Tuesday issued a clarification amid media reports that it is set to move a proposed project from Odisha to Maharashtra.
“JSW group is not withdrawing its proposed Rs 40,000 crore electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing project from Odisha,” the company said in a press statement.
Earlier in the day, Industries Minister Sampad Swain said the state government has received no intimation in this regards. “Talks are still on with JSW. Nothing has been finalised over relocation. We have received no message and the government is making due efforts in this regards. Investors make decisions based on their own considerations, and delays can occur due to various reasons. There has been inordinate delay in starting projects on several occasions and it is the same with the JSW,” the minister told a presser.
Also Read: Talks Still On, Says Odisha Minister Amid JSW Plans To Shift Rs 40K Cr EV Project To Maha
Odisha Bytes was the first to report about this probable relocation on August 23, barely six months after the company signed an MoU with the Odisha government led by Naveen Patnaik for setting up an Integrated Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Battery Manufacturing Project at Cuttack and Paradip. The Mint on September 24 reported that the conglomerate is now considering Aurangabad and Nagpur as new sites for its projects.
A JSW spokesperson, however, said land acquisition for the proposed project was yet to commence. “Once the state government hands over the land, we would set up the plant,” a company spokesperson told the media.
The JSW had proposed to set up an EV and EV battery manufacturing unit at Naraj in Cuttack with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore and an EV components manufacturing complex at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore. The planned manufacturing operations included electric vehicles, a 50 GWh battery plant, electric powertrains, a lithium refinery, and various related production units.