Bloomberg quoting 2 people familiar with the plans said that POSCO may build a smaller steel mill than planned in India after failing to secure enough land for what would be the biggest overseas investment in the south Asian nation.

One of the people said that POSCO is looking to reduce the amount of land for the mill and iron ore mine project, said the people who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. The plant size may be cut to 8 million tonnes from 12 million tones.

POSCO may need only 2,800 acres, about 25% less than the 3,719 acres currently being sought, to build a factory of lesser capacity, the person said. The state, which has acquired more than 2,100 acres of land, halted a purchase in the Jagatsinghpur district in December after protests by the local population.

Mr Raghunath Mohanty Odisha’s industries minister said that “The state is doing its best to acquire land for the POSCO project. It is not feasible to set a deadline but I hope the process would soon get over.”

Taking less land may help POSCO clear the way to begin construction in the eastern state of Odisha after more than six years of delay as farmers refused to vacate the state owned land they have occupied for generations. POSCO has kept pushing for the project through the delays, attracted by India’s average 10 percent growth in annual steel consumption over the past six years.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)