Rs 65,000-Cr JSW Utkal Steel Ltd gets green nod; project to generate huge employment opportunities

By Sukanta Kumar Mohanty

BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 11: JSW Utkal Steel Ltd (JUSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Steel Ltd., and part of the $13 billion JSW Group, on Monday received the environmental clearance (EC) for setting up of a greenfield Integrated Steel Plant (ISP) of 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) crude steel from the Union ministry of environment forest and climate change (MoEF&CC).

The mega project is claimed to generate huge employment opportunities in the region, which in turn will boost the economy of Odisha state.

The capital expenditure for the modern, green and environment-friendly integrated steel plant (ISP) project is expected to be approx. Rs 65,000 crore, including associated facilities. The phase-wise work for the project will start once the land is handed over to the company by the government of Odisha.

The project is one of the largest in the manufacturing sector in the country and MoEF&CC accorded the EC after successful public hearings.

JUSL has earmarked budgets for social interventions under public health, education, skill development, social infrastructure, waste management, environment, drinking water, women empowerment and so on. Additionally, based on the environment impact assessment (EIA), the company has plans to incur expenditure for the environment protection and mitigation measures.

As India’s leading steel producer, JSW Steel has always been the front runner in incorporating sustainability into its core operations and decision-making practices, along with adopting the Best Available Technologies (BAT) to improve climate impact performance.

JSW Steel has adopted a specific climate change policy and set an ambitious CO2 emission reduction target of 42% over the base year of 2005 by 2030 (to a level 1.95tCO2/tcs).

JSW Steel is also investing in R&D for sustainable products and emission control, resource optimization, process efficiency and for ensuring multi-pronged digital focus to improve existing practices. JSW Steel has issued the global steel industry’s first Sustainability-Linked US Dollar bond in 2021, linked to its decarbonization target for 2030. The target set by JSW Steel is much steeper than those committed as per India’s Paris Accord NDC’s, and is aligned with the sustainable development scenario (SDS) pathway of the International Energy Agency.