Posco project work may kick off in early 2014

CM Naveen Patnaik says his govt has already acquired land needed for the Posco project

After waiting for more than eight years since the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in June 2005, the $12 billion Posco steel project, billed as the country’s single largest FDI, is poised to take off from the ground.

“The state government has already acquired land needed for the Posco project. I hope work on the project to start early next year. We would like the Posco project to be inaugurated before our President’s visit to India,” said South Korean ambassador to India Joon-gyu Lee after his meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here today.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye is slated to be the chief guest of the Republic Day celebration in New Delhi on January 26, 2014.

Asked if there was any deadline to inaugurate the Posco project, Lee said, “There is no deadline. Posco has been waiting for more than eight years. We should do our best to let the project start.”

“The Posco project will spell welfare and development for the state. Once the project starts, you will be able to see the big difference that it makes,” he added.

On signing of a fresh MoU, he said, “I hope the new MoU will be signed soon since Posco has already agreed on all the points (stipulated by the state government).”

The original MoU signed with Posco India lapsed in June 21, 2010. It has been decided to sign a tripartite agreement involving the Odisha government, Posco India and its parent firm- South Korean steel behemoth Posco.

The envoy also sounded optimistic on Posco’s mining plan after the Supreme Court verdict in May this year.

“The mining project is almost clear. The Supreme Court has held that there is no problem. I don’t see any problem in the mining plan,” Lee told media persons.

Though the state government had recommended the Khnadadhar iron ore mines in favour of Posco India in 2006, the matter was locked up in litigations for many years till the apex court gave its ruling. The Supreme Court had set aside the July, 2010, order of the Odisha High Court that had quashed the state government’s recommendation for PL (prospecting licence) in favour of the steel maker.

Commenting on the report of UN human rights experts suggesting scrapping of the Posco project, Lee said, “That is not a report. It is only a preliminary press release. I am very disappointed with the release. Their accusations are not correct. They did not visit Bhubaneswar or talk to the state government officials. They only visited Delhi and came in contact with the people who are opposed to the project.”

A group of eight human rights experts under the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on October 1 alleged that the Posco project threatens to displace over 22,000 people in the Jagatsinghpur district and disrupt the livelihoods of thousand others in the surrounding area.