Mittal Steel Co. will sign a deal on Saturday to build a 12mn ton steel plant in eastern India, state's Industry Secretary, S.K. Satapathy said on Wednesday.

Mittal will invest Rs450bn to mine iron ore and build the steel plant in Jharkhand and the project should come on stream in 48 to 54 months, he said.

The deal will be signed by the state chief minister, Arjun Munda, and the London-based founder and chairman, Lakshmi Mittal. The plant will be Mittal's first in India, his birthplace.

Mittal will also get a committed supply of 600mn tons of iron ore from the state's Chiriya mines for 30 years, he added.

Jharkhand, with estimated iron ore reserves of 3.61bn tons, had already signed steel project proposals with Tata Steel Ltd., India's second-largest steel firm, and smaller companies such as Essar Steel Ltd. and Jindal Stainless Ltd.