Final decision on POSCO's Orissa plant by end-January: Jairam Ramesh

India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday a final decision on the South Korean steel firm POSCO's planned $12 billion steel mill in Orissa state will be taken by end-January.

The world No. 3 steelmaker's 12-million-tonnes a year plant in eastern India, billed as India's biggest foreign direct investment project, is seen as a test case of India's investment climate after being stalled by local protests and delays over environmental clearance.                           

POSCO signed the agreement for the Orissa mill in 2005 and was scheduled to begin production by end-2011. 

The ministry had in August asked POSCO to halt all work at the project, including land acquisition, while a panel investigated whether forest laws were violated.                                           

Last month, the forest panel recommended temporary withdrawal of existing permits.