India has assured South Korea that it will expedite steel major Posco’s proposed $12-billion plant in Odisha and stage one of the project will take off very soon.
Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma discussed the project with his South Korean counterpart Sang-jick on Wednesday.
“When it comes to prospecting, comments of the Orissa government are with the Government of India. And the same will be expedited so that stage one takes off,” Sharma told reporters after his meeting with the Korean Minister.
The Korean Government is concerned as the Posco’s proposed SEZ project has been stuck since 2006 due to land issues and environmental problems.
Things have recently looked up for the project with the Environment Ministry finally giving its clearance. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has also given the State’s approval for Posco to prospect the Khandadhar region, which has an estimated iron-ore reserve of 200 million tonnes.
“Stage one will be 2,718 acres of which 1,700 acres plus has already been handed over. For the remainder, I think the Orissa Government has put together another package,” Sharma said.
The Minister said that stage one of the project will attract over half of the projected investment of $12 billion.