Shyam SEL & Power Ltd, despite the odds of the economic meltdown has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 450 acres required for its proposed integrated steel and captive power project in Jamuria in West Bengal and will begin commissioning activities in 2009 year-end at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. Orders for more than 80 per cent of plant and machinery for the first phase of the project have been placed. Funding for the Rs. 9,900-crore integrated steel and power plant project had been sanctioned in-principle. However, plans to tap the market for raising some equity had been put off in view of the volatility. While 65 per cent of the project cost would be debt, the remainder would be equity.

While the company has been allotted a coal block in Jaganathpur, the state has assured to allot another block at Kunnur in West Bengal. Shyam SEL would have to source iron ore from miners in Orissa. Deepak Goyal, executive director, Shyam Group said, "We are targeting 2015 as our deadline for setting up the full capacity but the first phase-2.5 lakh tonne stainless steel plant and 250 mw captive power plant - will come up by 2009, with an investment of Rs 2000 crore."

Mr. Goyal claimed that the group was the single largest private sector employer in West Bengal with 10,000 people on its rolls across 24 locations. It has operations in Howrah, Burdwan, Durgapur, Ranigunj, Silguri, Orissa and Meghalaya.

West Bengal has attracted Rs 70,000 crore investment in the steel sector. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that West Bengal has become the most attractive destination for setting up steel units. But former Coal India Ltd chairman Sashi Kumar, who is presently on the board of Shyam SEL, said that most of the proposed capacities are unlikely to come up because of the present downturn. "Only people who are long into the steel business will come with their capacities, otherwise most of the plans will be shelved."