By IANS,
New Delhi:India has set a positive tone for the four-day visit of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak that starts Sunday by giving a crucial environment clearance to Seoul’s $12 billion Posco steel project in Orissa, the single largest FDI in the country.
“Many of the issues have been resolved. The government of India and the state government of Orissa are trying their best to pave the way for the initiation of the project,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told reporters here Friday.
The spokesperson, however, admitted that the Posco steel project at Jagatsinghpur district in Orissa, has not evolved at the pace the government would have liked to, but efforts are on to clear the remaining issues in its way.
The stage II environmental clearance was given Dec 29 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, said here.
There are issues relating to land acquisition, Bambawale admitted.
The Posco project requires 4,500 acres of land out of which the government owns 4,000 acres. The rest 500 acres are owned by some 400-odd families.
The government is keen to set the right tone for the visit of the South Korean president who will be the guest of honour at the Republic Day celebrations, an honour reserved for the leaders of those countries with which India enjoys special relationship.
That’s why Indian officials are working overtime to fast-track the Posco project so as not to send out a negative signal to South Korea investors.
Around $2.7 billion in FDI proposals from South Korea have already been cleared by India, making Seoul the seventh largest foreign investor in India.
Accompanied by ministers, parliamentarians and businessmen, Lee begins his four-day visit to India from Chennai Sunday.
A clutch of agreements, including in areas of IT and peaceful uses of space technologies, are expected to be signed Monday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds talks with the visiting South Korean leader.
The focus of the visit will be on scaling up economic ties between India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and South Korea, an Asian economic giant known for iconic brands like Hyundai cars, Samsung and LG. Bilateral trade crossed $16 billion last year.