The South Korea Government on Saturday reportedly sought the Indian Government accord no objection to extension of validity of Posco India’s proposed multi-product SEZ near Paradip. The validity of the in-principle approval for the multi-product SEZ expired on October 24 last.
According to reliable sources, the issue of no objection to Posco’s ambitious project came up for discussion during the 7th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission meeting held on Saturday at New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier sought the present status report of the much delayed $12 billion Posco steel project from the Odisha Government.
Meanwhile, according to the State Government sources, Posco India has already urged it for extension of validity of the SEZ till October 2014. The issue, however, is under consideration, the State Government sources said.
The sources informed that on receipt of the request from Posco, the Industries department had asked the latter to submit an action plan relating to exact timing for construction of the delayed steel mill and the date of commissioning of the project.
“The response of Posco authorities is awaited. The State Government on receipt of the action plan would do the needful only after examination,” said an official in the department. The State Government is to forward the no-objection in support of the extension request to the Central Government for the consideration of the SEZ Board of Approval. Pending the Posco’s action plan, the State Industries department has also asked the Steel and Mines department and the authorities of the State owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) to immediately give their views on the request of the South Korean steel major.
Sources said that the State Government has so far handed over physical possession of 1,704 acre of the required 2,704 acres of land and would get another 1,000 acre of land for the firm soon. Posco’s multi-product specific SEZ was proposed over 4,004 acres of land in which the company would invest `3,023 crore. The SEZ project proposes to produce 6,348,000 tons of finished steel per year. The project would provide employment for 48,000 people, including 18,000 direct employments, sources said.