Bhubaneswar: Amid reports that Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group is set to move its planned Rs 40,000-crore electric vehicle (EV) and battery project from Odisha to Maharashtra, Industries Minister Sampad Swain on Tuesday said the company is yet to take a final decision in this regard.
“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 group has also faced delays in starting their EV project,” the minister told reporters.
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 for setting up an Integrated Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Battery Manufacturing Project at Cuttack and Paradip.
A JSW spokesperson 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.
The conglomerate is now looking at Aurangabad and Nagpur in Maharashtra for its EV and related projects, according to reports.
The move is being seen as a blow for the ruling BJP after the company signed an agreement in February with the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal government, which was voted out in the Assembly elections in June.
