Following is an excerpt from a PTI report in Hindu.

Kalinganagar: MESCO Steel Group plans to invest $2.8 billion (over Rs 1,000 crore) to expand its existing steel making capacity and set up a greenfield project that would together take its total capacity to 6.5 million tonnes per annum. MESCO, which owns Mideast Integrated Steel Ltd (MISL), would enhance its existing pig iron plant here into a 3.5 million tonnes steel plant with an investment of $1.2 billion, company’s Managing Director Rita Singh told reporters here.

Ms Singh said that the company would pump in $1.5-1.6 billion through joint venture route in setting up a greenfield steel plant here. The project is likely to be finalised within 2-3 months.

"We have already acquired 800 acres of land for this greenfield steel plant,” she said, adding that this project would be set up by MESCO Kalinga Steel. Both these projects would be completed by 2010-11, she said. The funds for these projects would be arranged through suppliers credit and cash equity.

… MESCO, which has become debt free recently, is also planning to ramp up its pig iron production from the current 4 lakh tonnes to 7 lakh tonnes by 2008-09. The products would be utilised by its steel plants, she said. – PTI