Posco to meet central ministers

South Korean steel major Posco, which is facing ground-level opposition to its 12 million tonnes, Rs 51,000 crore steel plant in Orissa, will be stepping up parleys with both the state and central governments to expedite the project work.

The company will utilise the presence of its board members in India, who are currently in Delhi to take part in the fourth quarter executive board meeting tomorrow, to carry forward this agenda.

It may be noted that the board meeting is being held in the backdrop of the abduction of four senior executives of the company by supporters of the anti-Posco movement in Paradip last week.

Peeved with the government's inaction to provide security at the project site, Posco has relocated most of its staff at the project site in Kujanga to its Bhubaneswar office.

Posco India Chairman and Managing Director Soung-Sik-Cho yesterday had shot off a letter to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, mentioning about the security concerns of his staff and stating that the company would be unable to start preparatory work from this month, as announced earlier, if these issues were not addressed by the administration.

During their stay in Delhi, the Korean company's board members are scheduled to meet the Orissa chief minister "" who is currently in Delhi "" tomorrow after the board meeting and call on a couple of Central ministers, including Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan, a day later.

Stiff opposition from locals to land acquisition "" the company requires about 4,004 acres near Paradip "" and uncertainty over getting a prospecting licence for Khandadhar iron ore mines in Sundergarh district of Orissa have delayed the start of work on the project by over six months.

These issues are likely to figure in the discussion between the board members and the Orissa chief minister and Central ministers.

The Posco board consists of six standing executive directors, including Chief Executive Officer Ku-Taek Lee, Senior Executive Vice-President Soung-Sik Cho, the chairman of the company and nine independent directors.

The board members would be visiting the Posco India corporate office in Bhubaneswar to review the progress of the project in the country.