The Odisha government on Tuesday approved five major industrial projects worth ₹1,46,000 crore investments, taking the total investment worth in the financial year 2020-21 to ₹2,96,000 crore.
The 26th high-level clearance authority (HLCA) chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gave the go-ahead to the proposal of expanding Jindal Steel and Power Limited’s six million tonne per annum (MTPA) existing integrated steel plant from the proposed capacity of 18.6 MTPA to 25.2 MTPA against an investment of ₹ 24,652 crore. The steel facility is at Angul.
According to the State government, the proposed investment will take JSPL’s total investment to ₹1,00,670 crore, making it the largest single location steel plant capacity in the world.
Existing steel-making capacity in Odisha is about 30 MTPA. The HLCA's approval for another 27.5 MT steel making capacity will almost double the installed capacity in Odisha over the next few years.
The biggest of five industrial projects cleared by the HLCA is that of Bhushan Power and Steel Limited which proposed to invest ₹55,000 crore for expanding its integrated steel plant from 5 MMTPA to 15 MMTPA at Rengali in Sambalpur district.
The Tata Steel Limited’s crude steel production from 3 MTPA to 8 MTPA, hot rolled coil from 3 MTPA to 7 MTPA, 2.2 MTPA cold-rolled products and 2 MTPA long products will entail an investment of ₹47,599 crore. All these capacity expansions will take place at its Kalinga Nagar facility in Jajpur district.
Two other brownfield expansion projects belong to Rungta Mines Limited. The company will invest ₹11,001 crore in Dhenkanal and ₹7,920 crore in Keonjhar district.
If brownfield projects materialise, Odisha will register an employment for an additional 26,959 people.
By 2030, Odisha's steel production capacity is likely to increase to 100 million tonne. According to government, the State has been consistently adding steel manufacturing capacity, which has gone up from 2 MT in the year 2000 to 20 MT in the year 2020. Several steel and downstream industries are already in various stages of implementation.
“The approvals granted by the HLCA are to the leading and reputed investors in the metal sector of the country and will further reinforce Odisha’s position as the topmost investment destination in the country,” said the Chief Minister's Office. The investment proposals assume significance at a time when the world is struggling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
