The seven-year wait to set up the greenfield steel project in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district may be over for Posco, the fourth-largest steelmaker in the world.

All formalities for signing of a tripartite agreement between Odisha government, Posco and its Indian subsidiary Posco-India has been completed and only Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s nod is awaited to go ahead with the process, according to state steel and mines and industries minister, Raghunath Mohanty.

“Posco has agreed upon all our suggestions about not swapping iron ore outside the country and about setting up ancillary industry near the plant area. The final draft (for the tripartite agreement) is complete. We are awaiting the CM’s approval to start the process,” Mohanty said.

The Planning Commission has sought information from the state government on status of PPP (public private partnership) projects taken up in infrastructure sector (as on March 31, 2012).

The information on such projects is to be furnished to the apex planning body by June 29 to facilitate their inclusion in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). It includes completed projects, projects being executed and projects in the pipeline.

The public hearing for environment clearance for the proposed 1,320 MW power plant of Sahara India Power Corporation Ltd, was conducted successfully by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) near Titlagarh in Bolangir district recently.

Over 300 locals from nearby villages attended the public hearing. The additional district magistrate, government officials, officials of SPCB, local leaders, company officials and representatives of all villages were present during the hearing.

Tata Steel, the anchor tenant for the industrial park being developed on 3,500 acres of land at Gopalpur, has sought extension of the in-principle approval granted for the park, which is set to be notified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

“The registration of land lease for the Gopalpur industrial park is yet to be done. In the absence of registration, application cannot be made to the Union ministry of commerce for notification of the park as an SEZ. Tata Steel has asked the state government to extend the date for in-principle approval beyond June 17 this year,” an industries department official told Business Standard.

With the Rs 28,000-crore refinery project of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at Paradip under a cloud of delay, the Odisha government has decided to ink an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the oil marketing firm to stipulate timeline and milestones for commissioning of the project.

IOCL being the anchor tenant for the PCPIR hub (Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region) to be set up in 70,214 acres of land spread over Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, the timely commissioning of the refinery was vital for attracting investors for the mega investment hub.

A rugged, tree-covered mountain range sweeps vertically into a brilliant blue sky.

After limiting movement of mineral laden trucks in the Joda-Koira mine rich belt, the state mining department has issued fresh set of guidelines for trucks plying on all mining routes to stop overloading and curb illegal ore ferrying.

Under the new guidelines issued by the directorate of mines, trucks allowed to enter into mine leasehold area will have to obtain a loading slip prepared by the lessee, at the entry point. The loading slip would contain information on truck registration number, destination to which the ore is to be transported and time of entry to the mine.

BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI: As a part of the Centre’s initiative to contain the spread of Maoism by taking up developmental projects in the affected areas, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Rames

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) has decided to lay emphasis on research of new breeds of various agro products, including paddy, jute, pulses, cotton and oi