The newly appointed Chairman and Managing-Director of state-owned iron ore miner NMDC, Narendra Kothari, said the company focuses on timely implementation of the three-million-tonne integrated steel plant at Nagarnar, near Jagdalpur, in Chhatisgarh.In an interview to Business Line on Tuesday, Kothari said improving the quality of the ore and, enhancing ore production in Karnataka, which has been hit by a plethora of restrictions imposed by the apex court, are big challenges before the company.

The 58-year-old former SAIL executive took charge at the mining outfit on April 21. The appointment came more than two years since the retirement of Rana Som in December 2011.

“We have just started construction of the Nagarnar facility. I am yet to take stock of the issues concerning project implementation. However, considering a mammoth ₹15,525-crore outlay, it would be a priority in the next couple of years,” he said.

Deadlines

NMDC previously set 2017 as the deadline for commissioning the plant. Though construction of the main plant is in progress, the project is faced with a major regulatory hurdle in developing a 32-km-long water intake pipeline. The pipeline entails an investment of approximately ₹1,000 crore.

Talking on mining operations, Kothari said while production is growing at a satisfactory pace in Chhatisgarh, there are issues in Karnataka.

The Supreme Court lifted the ban on mining in Karnataka a year ago but only around 23 out of 115 mines have resumed operations so far.

The NMDC chief, however, refused to comment on the pricing issues following removal of the ban on iron ore mining in Goa.

On Monday the apex court allowed Goa to produce a maximum of 20 million tonnes of ore annually.

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