Posco hurdles to be cleared in 3 months: Orissa

The Orissa government today said it will, within the next three months, clear all hurdles to South Korean steel giant Posco's Rs 52,000 crore plant in the state amid a possible review of investment by the steel-maker.

"We will find ways within the next three months to sort out all hurdles. The steel giant has already been given 1,100 acres of land for its proposed 12 million tonne integrated steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district," Orissa Steel and Mines Minister Padmanabha Behera told PTI.

He reasoned that misgivings among the people on the project site were being addressed, and hoped that Posco would commence work on its project in due course.

Reacting to media reports that Posco was planning to withdraw from the state, Behera argued: "One needs to understand that we are progressing as per the terms and conditions enshrined in the MoU signed in June 2005."

Posco was, last week, reported to be reviewing its India investment plans owing to problems on the ground. The company is believed to have told the Centre and the Orissa government that "if matters were not sorted out within the next two-three months, then it could re-consider its investment plans in the country."

The company was also actively toying with the idea of shifting to Vietnam, which has a huge potential market and an investment-friendly climate.