The Orissa government has asked South Korean steel major Posco to decide on the date of signing the MoU for its 12 million tpa integrated steel project in the state by 22 June 2005.

A high-level team of Posco led by its president, Mr Chang Oh Kang was in Orissa last week to resolve pending issues regarding the $10 billion project at Paradip.

The contentious issue of exporting iron ore appears to have been resolved. The Orissa government has in principle agreed to Posco's demand of swapping Indian ore for an equal amount of Brazilian ore. The Orissa government has clarified that Posco would first have to import (Brazilian) iron ore and then export an equal quantity of Indian iron ore. The reverse would not be allowed. Further, Posco could export only up to 15 per cent of the iron ore allotted by the Orissa government.

The date for the MoU would be finalized after Posco President, Mr Kang, discusses the issue with parent company in Korea. It is likely that representatives of the Union government would be present during the signing of the MoU.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Posco has planned to increase its investment from $10 billion to $12 billion, the increment meant for infrastructure development like roads, ports, etc. for the proposed plant. The investment would be phased over a period of 30 years.

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