Mr Virbhadra Singh steel minister said that South Korean steelmaker POSCO’s INR 54,000 crore project in Orissa mired in land acquisition problems, will soon get the required area for the plant.

Mr Singh on the sidelines of Steel Mart Expo said that "POSCO will soon get the possession of land for its steel plant to be set up in Orissa.”

The INR 54,000 crore project, billed as India's single largest FDI, failed to take off due to stiff opposition from farmers to part with their land. The project now delayed for five years as it had signed an agreement with the Orissa government in 2005 to set up a plant with an annual production capacity of 12 million tonnes.

Recently, the environment ministry had asked the Orissa government to stall all activities related to the POSCO project citing violation of green norms in land acquisition.

The world's third largest steelmaker, POSCO requires a total of 4004 acres of land in the Jagarsinghpur district of mineral rich Orissa. Most of the required land falls under the green cover.

The steel minister asked POSCO to give adequate compensation, job opportunities, education and annuity to the people from whom land is acquired. He said that “We want that an adequate compensation should be given, employment opportunities should be created and annuity can also be given to those whose land will be taken for the project. Proper rehabilitation of the oustees should be there.”

Mr Singh expressed concerns that delays in giving clearances to POSCO's project could hit prospective foreign investment.

(Sourced from ET)