India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has approved the demerger of state-run NMDC Limited’s 3 million mt per year capacity greenfield steel mill project, directing it to start the demerger process immediately, a statement issued by NMDC Limited said on Wednesday, October 12.
The demerger of the steel mill project from parent NMDC Limited is a precursor to it being put up for its privatization to private investors through competitive bidding.
As per the timelines set by the government, the demerger process needs to be completed by NMDC Limited by the end of October, enabling the government to start inviting formal bids from private investors by December.
Industry speculations indicate that domestic steel majors like JSW Steel Limited and Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), along with global majors like ArcelorMittal and POSCO are preparing to submit bids for the steel mill project about to start trial production over the next few months in the central state of Chhattisgarh.