New Delhi, Nov 9 : An exhibition on metal, organised by the Indian Institute of Metals, will be held in Kolkata's Science City complex Nov 14-17.

More than 40 foreign trade delegations will participate in the Metals Minerals Manufacturing Expo 2009, which will showcase a range of metal and mineral production technologies, latest international processes and equipment and tools.

Participating countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain and the US.

A whopping $300 billion is being invested in the metals sector in eastern and central India -- mostly in Orissa and Jharkhand, followed closely by West Bengal and Chhattisgarh -- over the next few years.

This would effectively create an annual production capacity of steel of over 240 million tonnes, nearly five times India's current capacity. The investments are both in greenfield and brownfield industries.

India is the fifth largest producer of crude steel, ahead of South Korea and Germany, once the leaders in this field.(IANS)