No clarity on Odisha project despite Posco head-Modi meet

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
New Delhi, May 20:

The uncertainty over the fate of the mega steel plant proposed to be built by Korean steel major Posco near Paradip in Odisha has deepened further with no word on whether the project figured during talks between POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of his South Korea tour on Tuesday.

Though the meeting lasted for over an hour, it was not clear whether there was any discussion between them on the status of the steel project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

It may be mentioned that the Posco issue did not figure during the meeting between Modi and South Korean president Park Geun-Hye on Monday nor was there any mention of it in the joint statement issued by the two leaders after the meeting.

Talk of a possible pull-out from Odisha by Posco has been rife after the Central government made it clear that the Korean steel giant will have to bid for iron ore mines for its proposed plant.

Speculation about a pull-out got further strength with Posco and IDCO, the land acquisition arm of the state government, locked in a bitter fight over payment of dues towards land acquisition and NPV by the former.

There has been no official word from Posco about any plans to scrap its Odisha project.