The JSW Group, a part of the $4 billion O. P. Jindal Group has announced its plans of injecting Rs.7525 crore in four different projects in Tamil Nadu within the next three years.

Appraising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of the plans, vice-chairman and managing director of JSW Steel, Sajjan Jindal said that the first project, which will be executed at an outlay of Rs.400 crore, involves putting up mining and beneficiation plants in Salem and Thiruvannamalai districts to access the iron ore.

The second project, Jindal said, involves doubling of its steel making capacity at the existing SISCOL (Southern Iron and Steel Company Ltd) steel plant to 2 million tonnes at an investment of Rs.3000 crore as soon as iron ore production from the two mines in Salem and Thiruvannamalai districts commences.

The third project involves setting up a 1 million tonne slag grinding plant at the existing SISCOL plant costing Rs.125 crore.

Siscol, which produces round and long products for construction and engineering applications, was recently merged with JSW Steel. The company was acquired by JSW Steel in 2004.

The fourth and the final project will involve setting up a 1,000 MW power plant with an outlay of Rs.4000 crore. The project is likely to be operated by group subsidiary JSW Energy under a PPA with the Tamil Nadu government. The group has identified Ennore port as the ideal site for the project, Jindal said.

Our plan, envisaging investment of over Rs.7500 crore will result to creating direct and indirect employment for about 10,000 persons, Jindal said.

In a press address, Jindal said that JSW Energy, a subsidiary of the JSW Group, is constructing power plants that would generate 3,000 MW of power across the country. By 2015, Jindal said, the company would have power plants all over the country with a total capacity of 15,000 MW.

According to a company source, JSW Energy will tap the capital market by early next year and raise over Rs.5000 crore for funding the energy projects. The company plans to invest Rs.12,000 crore in the energy sector in the next three years.

The JSW Group plans to invest Rs.40,000 crore in various projects across the country, of which Rs.25,000 crore would be raised through debt and the balance through equity.

Out of total investment of Rs.40,000 crore, half would go to the steel sector, Rs.12,000 crore to the power sector, and the remaining Rs.8,000 crore would be spent on the proposed foray into cement making, aluminium and building ports.

Unveiling the group's ambitious plan, Jindal said that JSW Cement is in the process of identifying limestone mines at Salem in Tamil Nadu to set up a grinding unit with a capacity of 0.4 million tonnes. In addition, it is also setting up one unit each with a capacity of 2 million tonnes and 3 million tonnes respectively, in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka using fly ash, he said.

JSW Aluminium, Jindal said, would invest Rs.4000 crore in the first phase to set up an alumina plant with a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. In the second phase, it would invest Rs.8000 crore to set up a 0.25 million tonne aluminium plant.

The JSW Group's two subsidiaries - South West Port Ltd and JSW Infrastructure and Logistic Co. Ltd - are involved in setting up a port in Goa with an investment of Rs.350 crore and a special economic zone (SEZ) in Maharastra with an outlay of Rs.650 crore.