Posco to begin construction of captive port in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Worried over tardy progress of its Rs 52,000 crore Greenfield project in Orissa, South Korean steel giant Posco would begin construction of a captive port a year before actual work on its 12-million-tonne steel plant begins in 2009, even as it was optimistic of tiding over opposition by villagers to the project.

Seeking quick steps for removal of hurdles in land acquisition and mining lease, Posco-India CMD Soung-Sik Cho said that the company would start work for its captive port early next year, while construction of the proposed steel plant was expected only in 2009.

"Though preparatory work like raising of boundary walls and similar other structures would start next month, actual construction of the plant will have to wait due to very slow progress at the ground level," he said.

Admitting that Posco-India was yet to be handed over a single piece of land out of the 4,004 acre required for the project near Paradip, Cho said demarcation of 193 acres of land was likely to take place by this month end.

"Thereafter, registration will be done and we will take physical possession of 193 acres," he said, expressing hope that rest of the land would be acquired in due course as 89 per cent of the area comprises government land and only 11 per cent was private land.

Stating that the work on the project should not be delayed further, Cho said it must gain momentum as cost escalation may become a matter of serious concern though at present it is at an "affordable" level.

Declining to specify the quantum of cost escalation as of now, Cho said "it is difficult to calculate at this juncture The escalation is marginal and affordable. But there should not be any further delay."

Attributing the one year delay already caused to the project work to "failure of the system for industrialisation," the Posco-India CMD said, "there are so many stake-holders and a large number of officers and political elements in the decision making process which make things move at slow pace."

However, Cho felt that opposition to the project was fast losing strength. Out of the three gram panchayats coming under the project area, people of Gada Kujangaand Nuagaon have been convinced about the beneficial effect of the plant with the help of intelligentsia and others, he said.

The only pocket still voicing opposition to the project lies in Dhinkia and soon its residents would be made aware of the development process that Posco plant was set to usher in, he said.

Another area requiring proper attention was mining lease to ensure steady flow of iron ore for the Posco plant which would need 20 million tonnes of ore par annum, he said, adding that the company was hopeful of obtaining lease of Khandadhar mines notwithstanding opposition from Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd and other aspirants.

Unfazed by hurdles, Cho said once the project took off, its superior 'finex' technology would make the plant qualitatively different from those using blast furnace technology.