MoU bound projects invest Rs 2.53 lakh cr in Odisha

Of 92 committed projects, 46 have started partial or full-scale production, employing over 150,000

Industrial projects bound by MoUs (memorandum of understanding) with the Odisha government have invested Rs 2.53 lakh crore on their projects. Of the 92 projects that have MoU commitments, 46 have commenced partial or full-scale production, generating employment for over 150,000 persons.

Of the 92 MoUs, the steel sector has the lion's share at 48, with 40 companies starting production. Bhushan Steel Ltd, Bhushan Steel & Power Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL), Tata Steel and Essar Steel are the major producers. Steel sector has seen investments of over Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

In the power sector, projects have been commissioned by Vedanta Group owned Sesa Sterlite, GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd and Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd (JITPL).

Vedanta has also started partial production from its proposed six million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh and 1.60 mtpa aluminium smelting facility at Jharsuguda. Aditya Birla Group-owned Hindalco Industries has also commenced production from its 0.36 mtpa aluminium smelter near Sambalpur.

In the petroleum sector, oil major Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has commissioned its biggest grassroots refinery of 15 mtpa at Paradeep. IOCL has invested Rs 34555 crore on the crude oil refinery, creating employment for 12238 people.

Since the opening up of reforms in the country, Odisha has emerged as the preferred destination for investors, drawing investments worth Rs 15 lakh crore.

To attract more investment, the state government recently launched a new logo, Invest Odisha.

Odisha is now looking beyond the metals and mining sectors and has identified some thrust sectors, including chemicals, plastics, petrochemicals, downstream and ancillary, agro and sea food processing, electronics manufacturing and textiles for new investments.

It has unveiled the latest edition of its Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR), 2015 that aims to ease business procedures and aims to pull Rs 1.73 lakh crore new investments by 2019.