Posco India wants approach road to start work on project

Posco India has sought definite time-frame for construction of approach road to its project site for resuming work on its 12 million tonne per annum greenfield steel mill proposed near Paradeep.

The project proponent cited that in the absence of approach road, it would not be in a position to start work on its plant over the patch of over 2,000 acres of land already acquired for the project. The chairman cum managing director (CMD) of Posco India Yung Wan Yun on Tuesday called on Priyabrata Patnaik, CMD of Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco).

“Posco India has sought time-frame for the approach road to the project site before starting work on their steel project. While, we cannot spell any definite time-frame, we have assured them that we will build the approach road soon. The steel company has agreed to almost all the conditions in the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) including the swapping clause,” Patnaik told reporters here.

Posco India director Y K Kim said, the company was ready to kick off work on the project after the approach road was ready. He admitted that work on the mega steel project had not moved ahead significantly in the past six years.

The state Chief secretary B K Patnaik had stated recently that Posco India can begin work on the steel project even without the renewal of the MoU that lapsed on June 21 last year. He had said that 2,000 acres of land was sufficient for the steel maker to start work on the steel plant.