A month after getting its green clearances revalidated, South Korean steelmaker Posco has approached the Cabinet Committee on Investment again, seeking resolution of the delay in grant of prospecting licence, needed to start iron ore mining.
?The state and the central government are in discussion regarding the technicalities before granting us the prospecting licence. We are providing them with all necessary documents. We hope to get the licence soon,? Posco-India spokesman IG Lee told FE confirming the development.
Although the Supreme Court last year directed the Centre to quickly decide on the approval of a prospecting licence for iron ore mines, and despite the progress being reviewed by Indian PM and Korean President last month, the ministry concerned has not given a go-ahead to Posco yet.
“Due to delay in the approval process, the progress of a project of such an international importance has continuously suffered a lot,” Posco said in its filing to the project monitoring group (PMG) under the cabinet secretariat. The project, touted as the biggest FDI in India, has failed to take off after Posco signed an agreement with the Odisha government in 2005.
Government sources told FE that such events have happened with a few other companies as well ? they got certain clearances but came back to the PMG because of delays in other approvals.
Posco?s integrated steel plant and port project was to originally come up on 4,000 acres in the coastal town of Jagatsinghpur. However, environmental clearances and land acquistion have blocked progress. The cost is estimated at Rs 52,813 crore.
According to a company official, if everything goes as planned, Phase I of the project might be commissioned in 2018 while Phase II would be completed three years after the completion of Phase I. Phase III will be commissioned within three years of Phase II.
In 2005, POSCO signed an MoU with the government of Odisha to set up a 12-mtpa integrated steelmaking plant over 4,004 acres in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha. The project also envisaged the development of 600-mt iron ore mines in Sundergarh district only for captive use. It also planned development of fresh infrastructure such as port, power plant, railway, roads and township.