Posted on 19 October 2007

 

Source: DDI news, October 19, 2007

Korea steel giant Posco's chief met Orissa CM Naveen Patnayak in the capital and agreed to commence the groundwork on the 12 million tonnes Posco's Orissa steel plant by 1st April 2008. 

 

The steel major once again reiterated it's commitment and said that it will not close down any of its plants despite the opposition.

 

The chief minister said that the state will send his revised recommendation to the centre by the end of December.

 

Earlier ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and officials of the South Korean steel major POSCO on Friday, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday expressed confidence that the Rs 52,000 crore Posco project would be implemented in the state.

 

Patnaik, who was camping in Delhi, said his government was giving importance to the project as it was the biggest foreign direct investment in the country.

 

"The Posco project is important both for the Centre as well as the state government," he said.

 

Notwithstanding stiff opposition by local people at the plant site, which had forced the South Korean company to withdraw staff from its Kujang office, Patnaik said, "We will certainly see that the plant progresses in all ways."

 

According to company sources, POSCO's board of directors led by newly elected Chairman Ku-Taek Lee was scheduled to meet Patnaik at Delhi on Friday before meeting the Prime Minister and union ministers.

 

The steel giant, which had announced start of preparatory work for construction of its 12 mtpa green field steel mill near Paradip on 4,004 acre, has been unable to acquire an inch of land despite signing an MoU with the state government in 2005.

 

The world's fourth largest steel producer has faced a lot of difficulties including abduction of its executives twice in the last two and a half years.

 

"We were forced to withdraw staff from the site office after police asked us not to enter the area," POSCO-India's spokesman Shasanka Patnaik said, alleging that police were 'soft' towards anti-project activists.

 

 

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