Following is from a report in SteelGuru.com.

It is reported that Vedanta has started land acquisition for its first ever steel venture at Keonjhar in Orissa. It also hopes to start its third aluminum smelter in India by the end of June 2008. Once in place, the group’s smelter capacity would go up to almost 1 million tonne.

Vedanta has already floated an outfit called Sterlite Iron & Steel Company for undertaking the INR 12,500 crore project in Orissa and has identified 3,000 acres for the proposed 5.1 million tonne venture.

Official sources said that "This project will be like a forward integration for the group in Orissa as Sesa Goa has iron ore mines in the state which could be utilized for the project. The preliminary planning is on for an integrated environment management program and production requirements."

The source added that "Vedanta is investing INR 8,400 crore in phases in this project. The smelter will have a capacity of 50,000 tonne per year In the first phase, 25,000 tonne and a portion of 1215 MW captive power plant will be operational. The total employment in the project will be around 6,000 people."