Port, iron mines to make Orissa steel plant competitive: Posco
Port, iron mines to make Orissa steel plant competitive: Posco
By PTI
Bhubaneswar: Captive port and iron ore mines are prerequisites for Posco’s proposed 12 mtpa steel plant in Orissa, without which the company could lose its competitive edge in the global market.
“The port and captive mines are needed if such a large project is to have a competitive edge. These are basic needs without which one cannot survive in global business", Posco India chairman and managing director Soung-sik Cho said.
On concerns from several quarters that a new port could harm the existing Paradip port, he said the company is taking measures for protection against erosion of the coast and an impact, if at all, would be restricted to 3 km of the new port, which falls within Posco India’s project site.
The new captive port is proposed to be located at Jatadhari, about 12 km south of the Paradip port. “Those who are raising questions about the port planned at Jatadhari are doing so because of ignorance," Cho said.
Small steel plants, Cho said, could do without captive port by channelising their cargo through the existing port nearby. “But we will require the port as we will be handling about 30 million tonne of cargo annually", he said.
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