Indian state halts land acquisition for $12bn Posco plant

BHUBANESWAR: India’s Orissa state has stopped acquiring land for South Korean Posco’s proposed $12 billion steel plant after local protests, a government official said on Tuesday, further delaying what is the single largest foreign direct investment into the country.”It has been halted indefinitely,” S.K. Chaudhuri, the official in eastern India, told Reuters. “We are waiting for further instructions from the (state) government.”Thousands of villagers have protested against the state taking over land for the Posco plant, with women and children forming human rings around the site. Local opposition has long delayed the 4 million tonnes plant, like in the case of several other major infrastructure projects across India. – Brecorder