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Posco, the world's third-largest steelmaker, received approval for its $12 billion factory complex in India, paving the way for the nation's single-biggest foreign investment six years after it was proposed.
The South Korean company's 12 million metric ton mill, to be built in three phases in the eastern state of Orissa, was cleared with 28 additional conditions including limits on the use of water, the environment ministry said on its website. Approvals were also given to divert 1,253 hectares of forest land for the project and a captive port.
The plant, the nation's first overseas steel investment, has been delayed since 2005 because of resistance from farmers unwilling to give up their land. The farmers will hold rallies at the site starting tomorrow, Prasanth Paikare, a spokesman for opposition group Posco Prathirodh Sangram Samiti, said by phone from the eastern city of Bhubaneswar in the state.
"We're trying to garner nationwide support for our movement," said Paikare, who represents 25,000 farmers who will be affected by the project. "There'll be no land or water left for us to survive."
Posco shares fell 1.7 percent to 454,000 won at the end of trading in Seoul. The stock declined 21 percent last year, compared with a 22 percent gain in the benchmark Kospi index.
Panel Overruled
The future of the mill came under doubt after three of four members of a government panel in October suggested that initial permits given to Posco be canceled because of flaws in studies to determine the project's effect on the habitat. A separate report by Meena Gupta, the head of the panel, asked for conditions to be added to the existing clearances.
"How can the minister overrule the panel's recommendation?" Paikare said.
In August, the environment ministry rejected a proposal by billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources Plc to mine bauxite at Niyamgiri hills in the same state, hampering a planned $8 billion expansion.
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is also facing delays for two $10 billion mills, one each in Orissa and in neighboring Jharkhand state. Projects by Tata Steel Ltd., India's biggest maker of the metal, in the two states and in Chhattisgarh, and by JSW Steel Ltd. in Jharkhand have also been delayed on land issues.
Bloomberg
The South Korean company's 12 million metric ton mill, to be built in three phases in the eastern state of Orissa, was cleared with 28 additional conditions including limits on the use of water, the environment ministry said on its website. Approvals were also given to divert 1,253 hectares of forest land for the project and a captive port.
The plant, the nation's first overseas steel investment, has been delayed since 2005 because of resistance from farmers unwilling to give up their land. The farmers will hold rallies at the site starting tomorrow, Prasanth Paikare, a spokesman for opposition group Posco Prathirodh Sangram Samiti, said by phone from the eastern city of Bhubaneswar in the state.
"We're trying to garner nationwide support for our movement," said Paikare, who represents 25,000 farmers who will be affected by the project. "There'll be no land or water left for us to survive."
Posco shares fell 1.7 percent to 454,000 won at the end of trading in Seoul. The stock declined 21 percent last year, compared with a 22 percent gain in the benchmark Kospi index.
Panel Overruled
The future of the mill came under doubt after three of four members of a government panel in October suggested that initial permits given to Posco be canceled because of flaws in studies to determine the project's effect on the habitat. A separate report by Meena Gupta, the head of the panel, asked for conditions to be added to the existing clearances.
"How can the minister overrule the panel's recommendation?" Paikare said.
In August, the environment ministry rejected a proposal by billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources Plc to mine bauxite at Niyamgiri hills in the same state, hampering a planned $8 billion expansion.
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is also facing delays for two $10 billion mills, one each in Orissa and in neighboring Jharkhand state. Projects by Tata Steel Ltd., India's biggest maker of the metal, in the two states and in Chhattisgarh, and by JSW Steel Ltd. in Jharkhand have also been delayed on land issues.
Bloomberg