Indian state halts land acquisition for POSCO plant

The Indian state of Orissa said Tuesday it had temporarily halted land acquisition for a planned South Korean steel plant after mass protests by locals and rights groups. Some 1,000 women and children have joined recent demonstrations at the site where South Korean steel giant POSCO wants to build a $12 billion facility on 1,250 hectares (3,100 acres) of tribal land.
India gave POSCO its final clearance in May. The project in the eastern state's Jagatsinghpur district, is one of India's biggest foreign projects since the launch of market reforms in 1991. "The land acquisition process for POSCO has been temporarily halted," said S.K. Choudhury, the local Additional District Magistrate.
"The operation will resume when the government wants it to," Choudhury told AFP. The project in Jagatsingpur, a coastal district some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the state capital Bhubaneswar, has been the target of protests ever since POSCO signed an initial deal with the Orissa government in 2005.