Announcing his party’s support to the GST Bill, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said he is optimistic about implementation of the Posco project as well as an investment of `1.73 lakh crore during the next three years in the State.
“My party (BJD) supports the GST Bill as it is good for the State and also for the country,” Patnaik said while speaking at a round table discussion on ‘The ease of doing business in Odisha.’
The BJD has 20 members in the lok Sabha and seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to a question on Posco, which has reportedly put its Odisha project on hold, Patnaik said, “Posco has proposed to be the largest FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in the country. I am hopeful of its coming up here.”
Patnaik said the State Government has taken up the matter related to the Posco project with the Prime Minister and has been trying to convene a meeting at the Central Government-level to sort out the issues. With the Posco’s `52,000 crore project going uncertain mostly due to lack of mining linkages to the South Korean steel major, Patnaik on October 22, had met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and requested him to convene a tripartite meeting with Posco officials to take a final call on the project.