South Korean steelmaker Posco has not been able to start preliminary work at its planned steel plant in India as protesters blocked the access road.
Project is now a year behind schedule
NEW DELHI: South Korean steelmaker Posco has not been able to start preliminary work at its planned steel plant in India as protesters blocked the access road, a company official said on Friday.
The $12 billion project, which would be India’s largest single foreign investment, has been repeatedly held up by some villagers angry over being forced from their land.
Work on a boundary wall on the 500 acres of land already acquired for the proposed 12 million tonne plant, and land-levelling, was supposed to start in October. “No, it could not be started and has been delayed again because of the blockage of access road to the site by opposing group,” Posco India chairman and managing director
Soung Sik Cho said.
“We are now trying to remove this blockage with the government of Orissa,” he added. The construction work on the plant was due to start from April 2008, and despite the delay in preliminary work the company said it hopes to maintain the target.
The project has been repeatedly held up by villagers angry over being forced from their land and is now a year behind schedule. Posco India chairman added that the company was optimistic about a mining permission.
“The Orissa government has started hearing of all pending applications seeking lease over Khandadhar iron ore mines,” he said.
“After the hearing is over, we expect that the state government would recommend prospecting license within a month,” Cho added.
Steel secretary RS Pandey told reporters at a conference this week he expected a recommendation on Posco’s mining application to be made by the Orissa government to the Centre by the second week of December.
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