Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 25: Steel and mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick Monday reiterated that the state government is committed to going ahead with the Posco project.
The steel minister’s reaction comes a day after Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the state government was responsible for the uncertainty shrouding the $12 billion Posco project.
“The statement of the commerce minister is absolutely wrong. The state government is committed to the project,” Mallick told reporters here.
Mallick said the state government was hopeful that the South Korean steel giant would set up near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district its mega steel plant that would produce an estimated 12 million tonnes of crude steel per year and 11.28 million tonnes of finished steel per year.
“The government has thought of alternative arrangements for providing raw materials to Posco. If the company desires, it can get long-term raw material linkage from the state-run public sector unit (PSU) Orissa Mining Corporation to meet its iron ore demands,” the steel minister said.
Mallick said Posco is yet to express its stand on participating in the open auction to get a mine as per the new amendments to the Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDR).
Sitharaman had earlier said it was up to the state government to decide if it wanted the mega steel plant or not.
“Posco has been uninterested in setting up the steel plant at the proposed site ever since the union government made it mandatory that every steel-maker, including Posco, aiming for captive mining rights will have to participate in the bidding process. This is in case it didn’t have a letter of intent sent by the state government before the promulgation of the MMDR Act,” Sitharaman had stated Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mallick said the government would hold discussions with the company if it takes an initiative towards resolving the issue.
Posco India had entered into an agreement with the Orissa government in June 2005 for setting up a 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) plant, said to be the largest foreign investment in the country. The project is however yet to see the light of day.