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POSCO pulls out of $5.3bn steel project in India
July 16, 2013, 11:13 am

[AP]

Massive protests in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka resulted in delays for the project [AP]

Global steel major POSCO has decided to pull out of a $5.3 billion steel mill project in India.

“With the given market conditions and significant delay in acquiring the required land in Gadag, we have decided to close our proposed 6-MTPA [million tonnes per annum] steel plant in Karnataka,” POSCO India Chairman and Managing Director Yong Won Yoon said in a statement.

Massive protests in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka resulted in delays in acquiring mining rights and land acquisition by the South Korean firm.

POSCO has announced that it will continue with a second project in the country.

“We will proceed with a steel mill project in Odisha, which is making progress. The latest move will make us more focused on the project,” POSCO spokeswoman Kim Ji-young said.

The $12 billion steel project in the eastern state of Odisha is India’s largest foreign direct investment.

An iron ore exploration licence has recently been granted to POSCO’s Odisha project.

The South Korean firm is the world’s fifth biggest steel producer.

Source: Agencies