Posco CMD meets Odisha chief secretary; discusses mining lease

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Oct 31, 2014 at 1:59 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 31:

Gee Woong Sung, Chairman and Managing Director POSCO, India today met Odisha chief secretary GC Pati at the state secretariat here today and discussed ways to expedite work on its proposed mega steel plant near Paradip.

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The talks between Sung and Pati come in the backdrop of the Central government recently seeking more clarifications from the state government instead of taking a decision on granting mining lease to the company for the Khandadhar iron mines in Sundargarh district, which the state government had recommended in favour of the South Korean steel major.

POSCO had signed a MoU with the state government on June 22, 2005 for a $12 billion steel plant and port project- touted as the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) in India.

But more than nine years after the MoU, the company is yet to start work on its 12 MTPA plant, which was subsequently scaled down to 8 MTPA capacity, due to stiff opposition to land acquisition and delays in securing permission to mine iron ore, the basic raw material for steel.