Two Russian projects remain in limbo

Russian Prime Minister Vladimar Putin's latest visit to India will give birth to a slew of Indo-Russian business ventures. But two major joint ventures planned by Russian companies in India's rich mineral sector remain just on paper, years after the signing of the cooperation agreements.

The first, an integrated chemical and metallurgical complex to produce titanium dioxide and other titanium products in Orissa with an investment of Rs 20 billion (Rs 2,000 crore), has not taken off. Its future remains uncertain, as the partners decided to part ways a few months ago, mainly over differences on land allotment.

The venture was mooted three years ago among Russia's two state-run agencies - Vnesheconombank, or the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, and JSC Technochim Holding - and Kolkata-based company Saraf Agencies.

Another major project between Russia's VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, the world's largest producer of titanium, and the Kerala government for processing and smelting of titanium, has not taken off either.

The venture, with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes of titanium sponge, was to supply aviation metal to Hindustan Aeronautics, with raw material titanium tetrachloride procured from Kerala Minerals and Mining Limited, which is owned by the state government.

The Russian company, controlled by state-owned arms exporter RosoboronExport, was keen on the project and had signed a memorandum of understanding with the state in May 2007. "Two years ago we received a proposal from the Kerala government to supply raw material for a project planned by Avimsa in India. But we have not received any communication from the ministry of industries since then," said C J George, executive director of KMML.

Sources said the state government did not expedite the project as there were concerns and agitation in Kerala over large-scale extraction of key and scarce natural resources like titanium. Elamaram Kareem, Industries Minister for Kerala, could not be contacted despite repeated calls.