Posco looking to set up steel plant in Karnataka

BIJAPUR: Korean steel major Posco is in talks with Karnataka to set up a 6-million tonnes per annum plant at an estimated investment of Rs 32,000 crore, after plans for a unit in Orissa got stalled over environmental issues, State Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said today.

The firm has identified three potential sites -- at Gadag, Bijapur and Bagalkot -- for the project, he told reporters here today.

The firm has already deposited Rs 60 crore with the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) for acquisition of the land required for the project, he said.

He said there was no opposition from farmers over acquisition of their land for industrial purposes.

On an unrelated note, Nirani said the district will soon get a government-sponsored Tools and Training Centre, for which Rs 5 crore has been earmarked.