Posco hopeful of getting land for Orissa project soon

South Korean steel giant Posco today said it is hopeful of getting about 4,000 acres of land soon for setting up its proposed Rs 54,000-crore steel project in Orissa.

"Things are moving on the ground and we are hopeful of getting the possession of land from government to start construction," Posco General Manager External Affair Simanta Mohanty told PTI.

The south Korea steel company has failed to start construction of the proposed plant for the last four years primarily on account of problems in acquiring land and other regulatory bottlenecks.

The company also said it is open to other business opportunities.

"We are a business house on the look out for business opportunity and in the process we will talk to several stakeholders," Mohanty said.

The steel giant, which runs two steel processing units -- one each in Chennai and Pune-- said it is looking at more locations for such ventures.

Reacting to media reports indicating that Posco may pullout of Orissa, he said, "There is simply no question of relocating Orissa project. We are fully committed to it."

The company requires 4,004 acres of land in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa for setting up its 12-million-tonnes per annum integrated steel plant. Of the required 4,000 acres around 3,600 acres would be government land, majority of which lies in the forest area while the remaining would be private land.

Last month, steel minister Virbhadra Singh had said land and regulatory approval for Posco's project would be given within five month.

The company is also planning to set up a Rs 32,000-crore steel project in Karnataka and was reportedly in talks with steel maker SAIL for setting up a plant in a joint venture in West Bengal.