Posco suspending 12-bn Odisha project?

South Korean steel giant Posco has put on hold its $ 12 billion steel project in Odisha due to delays in various regulatory approvals. “We are tentatively suspending the Odisha (India) project due to lack of any progress,” Posco Chairman and CEO Kwon Oh Joon said. “Business conditions at home and abroad have changed due to drop in global steel demand, growing deficit of subsidiaries, which has led us to come to a conclusion that we must step up our reform efforts,” he said at an investor event in Seoul on Wednesday. The steel major’s India spokesperson said however that it is not quitting Odisha, even as its over $ 12 billion project has been hanging fire for almost a decade. “That is not the fact. Due to no progress in the project area, much of office space was lying vacant in Odisha. It was decided to renovate the office space to a smaller area,” a Posco spokesperson  said on being asked whether there are plans to exit 12 million tonne (MT) Odisha project.