Posco to sign first land lease agreement

A year after signing an MoU with South Korean steel maker Posco, Orissa government has assured the company of about 1,135 acres of objection-free government land for its proposed 12 million tonne steel project near Paradip.

The Jagatsinghpur District Magistrate has sanctioned 1,135 acres of government land in favour of the state-owned Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IDCO). A demand note detailing volume of payment is being sent to Posco India today, Ashok Meena, managing director of IDCO, said.

Once Posco India made the payment to IDCO, a lease agreement would be signed between the two organisations, Meena said adding the process would be completed within the next 10 days.

He said the state government had received over 6,000 objection letters from local people on the government-owned land available near the project site.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the progress of the project yesterday, and asked concerned departments to expedite procedures for the project.

The Posco project is the biggest foreign direct investment in the country, and "we shall do our best to facilitate the completion of project in time," Patnaik said.

The Posco delgation was led by chairman-cum-managing director Soung-Sik Cho.