Q1 of 20 Page 63

Factors/Resources affecting the location of a proposed Iron and Steel Plant on developed Dweep.

● Iron-ore: There are very large deposits of low grade iron-ore in India. Long distance transportation of the ore would be uneconomic.


● Coal: The only coal field contains rich deposits of high grade coal. vTransportation of the coal is by railway, which is relatively cheap.


● Limestone: This is widely available over the island, but the purest deposits are in the Chuna mountains.


● Water: Both the tributaries of river Neel carry sufficient water to supply a large iron and steel plant in all seasons. The sea water, because of its high salt content is unsuitable.


● Market: It is expected that the chief market for the engineering works of Rajdhanipur. Transports for the products mainly small steel bars and light steel plates would be relatively low.


● Labour Supply: This will have to be recruited mainly from the unskilled workers in the 3 fishing villages of Hill, Rah and Sing. It is expected that most workers will commute daily from their present homes.


● Port Facilities: These are at present minimal. There is a good, deep natural harbor at port Pashimpuri developed to import metal alloys.







































































Resource



Distance from X



Distance from Y



Weighting 1 – 10



Distance X weight for site X



Distance X weight for site Y



Iron-ore



50 km



10 km



10



10



10



Coal



50 km



60 km



10



10



10



Limestone



60 km



10 km



10



10



10



Water



50 km



10 km



10



10



10



Chief market



15 km



65 km



10



10



10



Labour supply



15 km



65 km



10



10



10



Total =



240



220



50



50



50







Both the sites, X and Y, have its own pros and cons. While for site X, raw materials like iron ore and water are far, for site Y market and labour is far.


a. We feel that site X would be more appropriate since labour supply and market availability is crucial for the success of any enterprise.


b. We feel that site Y is more appropriate since the proximity of raw materials like iron ore, limestone and water will reduce the cost of production a part of which can be invested in bringing in skilled labour and transporting finished product to chief market.



More from this chapter

All 20 →
3

Distinguish between the following:

Agro-based and mineral-based industry

 3

Distinguish between the following:

Public sector and joint sector industry

 4

Give two example of the following in the space provided.

(i) Raw Materials: …………and ……………..


(ii) End Products: …………and…………


(iii) Tertiary Activities: ………..and……….


(iv) Agro-based Industries: …………..and……


(v) Cottage Industries: ………and……….


(vi) Co-operatives:…………and…….

 5

How to identify a location for establishing an industry?

Divide your class into groups. Each group is a Board of Directors faced with the problem of choosing suitable site for an iron and steel plant Developed Dweep. A team of technical experts have submitted a report with notes and a map. The team considered access to iron-ore, coal, water and limestone, as well as the main market, sources of labour and port facilities. The team has suggested two sites, X and Y. the Board of Directors has to take the final decision about where to locate the steel plant.


Read the report submitted by the team.



● Study the map to find out the distances of the resources from each site.


● Give each resources a “weight” from 1 to 10 according to its importance. The greater the ‘pull’ of the factor on the industry, the higher the weight from 1 to 10.


● Complete the table.


● The site with the lowest total should be the most satisfactory site.


● Remember each group of directors can decide differently.