Mittal not satisfied with progress of India projects

“The progress in the proposed steel projects is not satisfactory either for me or for the company,” the steel tycoon said. The projects are yet to take-off due to a host of regulatory issues,including land acquisition.

However,he said he was happy with the progress of its joint venture refinery project in Bhatinda,saying it was “on budget,on time”.

“I am not a pessimist,things can be done,” he said at a meet organised by the Rotary Club here. Mittal had recently criticised the Indian project implementation system saying the country was “not prepared” to handle such mega investments.

ArcelorMittal,has not yet zeroed in on any particular location for its next investment in India,Mittal said. “We have not decided yet about the location. It could be Orissa,Maharashtra,Jharkhand or Karnataka,” he told reporters. Investment plans already announced remain unchanged,he said,adding “we are not exiting from these projects”.

He said even as the developed countries were coming out of recession,the recovery process would be long and slow. Mittal said fast-growing emerging countries will take the lead in driving demand up. Metal prices have recovered about half-way after collapsing in 2008-09 during what was the biggest global financial crisis since the Great Depression.

“The global economy is growing but off a low base,” Mittal said,adding that maximum demand would come from countries like China,India and Brazil. “I see the global steel demand to be back at pre-crisis levels by 2013,” he said.