SURAT: The chairman of Essar Steel, Shashi Ruia, has said that the commissioning of the group's proposed refinery project in the cyclone affected Jamnagar district town would be delayed. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting at its Hazira unit yesterday, Ruia said that the project had suffered damage due to the cyclone and the extent of destruction would be worked out shortly. ``Three persons were swept away in tidal waves and over 200 workers were injured in the company's unit,'' according to a company release here today.

He said the domestic steel industry was severely affected by unrestricted dumping by some stell-concerned countries and the problem was compounded by increase in costs of several regulated inputs like natural gas, power, petroleum products and freight, he added. ``The company had not announced any dividend this year on account of adverse factors in the industry,'' he said.

SARRC Chamber

MUMBAI: Kantikumar R Poddar, president,SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the recommendations of the group of eminent persons set up by the SAARC secretariat to postpone South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) to any day beyond 2001 would be a very retrograde set and would send wrong signals all over. In a statement, Podar said that the SAARC Chamber has created the necessary momentum amongst the business community in the member countries to work towards a free trade area and for promoting intra SAARC investment. This initiative, which has gained the momentum in the recent years will get decimated. ``All the apex chambers in the SAARC region have been consulting with their governments, the strategy for achieving free trade by 2001. On their part, they have sensitised the business community and the government, the desirability of moving towards free trade and set a road for achieving economic union by the year 2008. All these appear to be a dream if the cut off date for the free trade finalised after considerable consultations is put off,''he said.