Odisha pegs infrastructure outlay for NIMZ at Rs 10,000 crore

The state government has pegged the cost of external infrastructure at Rs 10,000 crore for the National Investment & Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) to be set up at Kalinganagar, the steel hub in Jajpur district.

The NIMZ in Odisha is among the three zones in the country that has got the final approval. 

“Unless suitable infrastructure is developed, investors will not come forward for the NIMZ project. Both the central and the state governments need to work together to tie up funding”, said an official source.

Idco (Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation), the state's agency for land acquisition and infrastructure development, is the nodal agency for implementation of the project.

The project will be developed in three phases in 15 years with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore for the internal and external infrastructure. Out of the total figure, the state government expects Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre and the balance will be invested by the state and private partners.

The NIMZ is expected to attract investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and generate employment for 4,50,000 people after its completion. The manufacturing zone is expected to attract investment from varied sectors like metal and mines, automotive, steel, and downstream industries.

It may be noted that the NIMZ would be a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection mechanism, residential areas, and administrative services.

Such zones would have a processing area where the manufacturing facilities along with associated logistics and other services as well as required infrastructure will be located.

The processing area may include one or more Special Economic Zones (SEZs), industrial parks, warehousing zones, and export oriented units.

Besides, there will be a non-processing area to include residential, commercial, and other social and institutional infrastructure.