Not looking for a partner in NMDC's Nagarnar steel plant: Govt

New Delhi: The steel ministry Thursday said it is not looking for a partner in the state-owned NMDC's 3-mtpa steel plant at Nagarnar for which the government is lining up around Rs 15,525 crore.[caption id="attachment_3045128" align="alignleft" width="380"] Reuters[/caption]Asked if the government is looking for a partner for the Nagarnar steel plant, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh told reporters here: "No, not at all."He further said: "But I feel that if something is there, it should be made operational at the earliest possible. I told them (NMDC) that you have the resources and this is a PSU where they are comfortable... I think NMDC has invested over Rs 12,000 crore in the plant."The country's largest iron ore miner, NMDC, is setting up a 3-mtpa integrated steel plant in Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.In June this year, an environment ministry panel gave clearance to a captive iron ore mine in Bastar for the plant.The plant is expected to start trial production by mid-2017.The Bailadila Deposit-4, which has mineable iron ore of around 108 mt, will entail an investment of around Rs 1,900 crore.The Chhattisgarh government and NMDC have inked an MoU for a slurry pipeline from Bailadila to Nagarnar, along with ore processing plants at Bailadila and a 2-mtpa pellet plant at Nagarnar with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore.