S Korean prez may lay Posco foundation stone in Jan

 The construction work for the Posco steel project in the coastal Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha will start shortly. The South Korean President Park Geun-hye scheduled to visit India in January, may lay the foundation stone for the construction work.

The matter was discussed when South Korean ambassador to India Joon-gyu Lee visited Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the latter's secretariat chamber here on Monday.

“Our President is going to visit India very shortly. I would like to see the President and the chief minister launch this mega-project,” said Lee during an informal chat with journalists after the meeting.

He expressed his happiness over the completion of land acquisition by the state government. “I am happy to know that the state government has successfully completed the land acquisition process, which is essential for launching of the project,” said Lee.

The Jagatsinghpur district administration had recently completed acquisition of 2,700 acres of land at the proposed site for the first phase of the 10-MT project, amidst protest by a section of local villagers.

“The Posco project is now on track. We expect the construction work to begin shortly,” Patnaik said while making a statement on his meeting with Lee.

Sources in the secretariat said the signing of a fresh memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project was also discussed. The initial MoU, inked between in June 2005, had expired in 2010. Both parties had recently agreed to sign a fresh MoU instead of renewing it.