While the fate of the proposed Posco steel project near Paradip is still uncertain, the South Korean company has given yet another hint that it might shelve the project.
This came to the fore on Monday when Chief Secretary GC Pati, responding to a query during a Press briefing at the Secretariat, informed that the Posco has decided to return 1.7 acres of land, allotted for construction of its guesthouse at Ghangapatna on city outskirts here, to the State Government.
“The Posco has sent a letter to the General Administration (GA) Department expressing its desire to return the land allotted to it for construction of a company guesthouse,” said Pati.
Earlier on March 7, 2014, the GA Department had issued a show-cause notice to the steelmaker company seeking a reply as to why it has not utilised leased out land. In its reply, the company explained it could not utilise the land as its main project near Paradip was delayed and sought time to utilise the land.
The company has now offered to return the land to the Government and wanted to get back its amount deposited against the allotment. “We are examining Posco’s letter of request. If restored, the land will come to the GA Department’s fold,” Pati said.
Notably, the company has put its mega steel project at Paradip on hold due to non-availability of long term raw material linkage.