Posco presses for early hand over of land for project

Posco India on Wednesday pressed for handing over of 2,700 acres of land to the company for start of construction of its much hyped project in the state.

The company also scotched all speculation about downsizing the project due to constraints in land acquisition. The speculation had gained ground after the South Korean ambassador,  Kim Joong-Keun, who visited the state on May 2, said, Posco would a build a smaller size plant if there is problem in acquiring the full 4,004 acres for the 12 million tonne project.

However, Posco India CMD, Yong Won Yoon, who called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Wednesday, told reporters after the meeting that the company is committed to build 12 million tonne steel plant in the state.

"Our original plan of 12 million tonne is still there. We will be executing it in three phases of 4 million tonne each. After we take possession of 2,700 acres, we will start construction for capacity of eight million tonne. Once we receive the remaining land we will expand it to 12 million tonne," Yoon said.

"Today we had a detailed discussion with

the chief minister regarding our project. There were talks on land issues and we expect that very soon the land will be cleared," he added.

Yoon said, as per the government statement, they have acquired 2,000 acres of land, but so far only 500 acres have been transferred to us. The remaining 1,500 acres still remain to be transferred.

Asked if the original investment estimate of 12 billion dollar investment will shoot up because of delay in implementation of the project, Yoon said, the project cost will vary at the time of execution.

On the renewal of MoU, which has expired in June, 2010, the Posco India chief said, we have already revised our MoU in consultation with the state government and submitted the draft. It is upto the state government to decide.

Responding to a query on recent setback arising out of suspension of environmental clearance by the National Green Tribunal, Yoon said, "Now we are in talks with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. Once things are sorted out, we will get on a clear picture.

He also announced setting up of a training institute in Erasama block, near the project site, for training of youths in skills to be required for steel making.