Centre to hear concerns of ArcelorMittal, Posco, Orissa govt

New Delhi: A meeting of officials of the Orissa government, ArcelorMittal and Posco will be held this week to clear the hurdles delaying investment of around Rs one lakh crore in the state by the two global steel giants.

"A meeting will be held in Orissa this week where we will discuss issues hurting the proposed (about Rs 1 lakh crore) investment of ArcelorMittal and Posco and look for possible solutions," said Steel Secretary P K Rastogi.

The meeting, to be held in Bhubaneshwar, would be chaired by Orissa Chief Secretary T K Mishra. There will be a Joint- Secretary level representation from the Steel Ministry besides top officials from the concerned districts.

The steel ministry has already held two separate meetings with the two global companies and have listed their concerns.

"We had already held meetings with the representatives of the two companies recently and discussed their concerns, problems which they are facing," he said.

Earlier this month, ArcelorMittal had threatened to abandon its over Rs 80,000-crore steel projects in Orissa and Jharkhand mainly due to problems faced in acquiring land and said that it will look for new sites within the country.

It also awaits iron ore mining leases to feed the proposed steel project in Keonjhar, Orissa.