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.