Posco gets environment clearance for Orissa steel project
01 Jan 2010
South Korean steel major Posco has got final clearance from India's ministry of environment and forests for acquiring forest land in Orissa for its $12 billion steel project.
"We have received final forest clearance from the ministry," Posco-India general manager (external relation) Simanta Mohanty said.
He said the ministry gave the clearance on Wednesday.
The world's fourth-largest steel maker signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up the steel plant near Paradeep in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur, some 100 km from Bhubaneshwar in Orissa.
The steel maker acquired about 4,004 acres of land for the project, of which 2,900 acres were forest land. Mohanty said the company has already deposited Rs105 crore with the state government towards compensatory afforestation.
He said the company is committed to creating a green belt of two million trees in the project area.