Posco India CMD meets Naveen, says MoU to be renewed soon

Even as the renewal of the lapsed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Posco India is delayed by more than 14 months, the steel maker expects the pact with the Orissa government to be renewed in near future.

Yung Wan Yun, who recently took over as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Posco India, today called on the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"There was no specific agenda for the meeting as it was a courtesy call. We had discussions on the project progress and we hope the MoU to be renewed as soon as possible”, said Y K Kim, director of Posco India after emerging out of a meeting with the Chief Minister.

The company's CMD refused to share anything with the media.

"Posco India CMD had a meeting with the state Chief Minister. The company authorities apprised the Chief Minister on the progress of their project. We would ensure that the lapsed MoU is renewed as early as possible” said a highly placed official source.

Posco India officials had recently met the state Chief Secretary on the renewal of MoU. However, the talks remained inconclusive.

The South Korean steel maker had entered into a MoU with the Orissa government on June 22, 2010 and the pact expired on June 21 last year.

The MoU renewal has been ostensibly delayed by the contentious issue of iron ore swapping.

Posco India which had agreed not to export ore has proposed to swap ore within the country. The proposal is under scrutiny of the state government.