Odisha Govt denies Knowledge of Suspension of POSCO Project

A day after POSCO put its Rs 51,000 crore steel plant project in Odisha on hold, Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick denied knowledge of any such developments. “The company has not informed us about freezing the Odisha project. We got the information from media only. We can’t react unless we get a communication from POSCO,” he said.

Prafulla Mallick expressed hope that POSCO project would take off in Odisha and all hurdles will be cleared soon. “The Naveen Patnaik government is in favour of industrialization and there is no change in its stand,” he added.

Talking about industrialization, he said that government has so far signed 49 MoUs, out of which 32 have been executed. He expressed confidence that other projects would also be implemented soon.

While POSCO CEO Kwon Oh Joon said that they are suspending the Odisha project due to lack of progress and drop in global steel demand, POSCO India’s spokesperson clarified that they are not quitting Odisha and just temporarily putting things on hold.