L N Mittal, chairman, Mittal Steel, is finally setting up a steel plant in India, independent of his brothers Pamod and Vinod Mittal''s Ispat Group of Industries, with a new 12-million tonne plant. Mittal, says he will invest over Rs30,00 crore ($6.5 billion) in the plant in mineral-rich Orissa, where South Korean steel giant Posco is also planning a $12 billion plant.

Mittal had earlier shown an interest in building a steel plant in neighbouring Jharkand, but as his proposal has made no headway for almost two years, he is reported to have opted for Orissa instead, where iron ore would be available cheaply.

Orissa chief minister Navin Patnaik has promised his government''s support to the project after talks with the steel tycoon in Orissa''s capital Bhubaneswar.

Earlier Mittal had said India and China would be the focus for his company. India''s demand for steel has been rising rapidly on the back of infrastructure development as the economy shows robust growth