Wednesday, July 5 2006 17:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhubaneswar: Steel tycoon L N Mittal, who last month clinched the elusive merger deal with rival Arcelor, is scheduled to visit Orissa on Friday to discuss investment possibilities in the state.

Mittal, who last year signed an MoU with Jharkhand Government for setting up a 12 million tonne steel plant worth Rs 40,000 crore, would meet Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Friday, an official statement said today.

On its part, the Orissa government has signed agreements with 43 different companies, large and small, for setting up steel plants in the state that included one by South Korean steel major POSCO and Tata Steel.

POSCO too has proposed setting up a 12 million tonne steel plant near Paradip with an investment of Rs 52,000 crore.