POSCO CEO urges Orissa govt to expedite land acquisition

Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 (UNI) POSCO Chief Executive Officer Ku-Taek Lee today urged Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to expdite the land acquisition work for its Rs 52,000 crore mega steel project near Paradip.

Mr Lee, who met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior officials of the state government to discuss the progress of the project, the largest FDI in the country, later told newsmen that the first phase of the plant would be in schedule despite the delay in acquisition of land and opposition to the project by the local people.

'' There bound to be some hitches in such kind of huge project but with the continuous support from the government, the work on the project is on schedule, '' he asserted while responding to the ongoing agitation against the project by the local people.

The first phase of the 12 MTPA project having capacity of 4 MTPA would be completed by 2010.

Sources said the state government assured Mr Lee that once the entire project area was surveyed to identify the exact forest land dereserved, the land acquisition would be completed and handed over to the company.

Mr Lee said the discussion with the Chief Minister over the progress of the project was very fruitful, adding POSCO was committed to the steel plant.

He also appreciated the continuous support from the government for the project.

UNI DP SJC AB 2139