The Indian government’s initiatives to resort to auction for allocation of iron ore and bauxite resources has cast doubts over South Korean steelmaker POSCO’s proposed $12 billion investments in the eastern Indian coastal province of Orissa, billed as the largest foreign direct investment in India, according to an Indian Steel Ministry official.
The provincial government of Orissa has communicated with the federal mines ministry seeking exemption from the auction process and the grant of iron ore linkage for the POSCO project, but the Indian government is yet to make a decision, while POSCO has refused to comment on whether it will go ahead with the Orissa project by securing raw materials through the auction route.