 "Odisha to come out with draft policy for downstream industries")
"The draft of the policy would be ready before the end of this fiscal. The policy for downstream industries would focus on assured raw material linkage for such units. The policy would boost downstream units around the mother plants and also generate substantial employment", said industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra.
In its recently notified SEZ (Special Economic Zone) policy, the state government has stressed that investors in metal sectors like steel, aluminium and ferro alloys with investments exceeding Rs 1,000 crore need to establish downstream parks if they want to put up their projects in SEZs.
The SEZ policy says the downstream parks have to be put up on an area of at least 200 acres."For metal processing industries such a downstream park should be located adjoining the metal producing plant with arrangement for supply of molten metal. The basic infrastructure of downstream park such as road, power, water supply, drainage and other common utilities shall be provided by the SEZ developer", the policy says.
The mineral based SEZs already approved would undertake to develop/promote related downstream industrial complex over a minimum area as prescribed by the government. In the event of non-compliance of the condition, all state concessions would be withdrawn.
Among the downstream parks planned in the state, the aluminium park at Angul being developed jointly by National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has gained headway.
The aluminium park at Angul is being developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Angul Aluminium Park Private Ltd (AAPPL), with shareholding of 50.50 per cent and 49.50 per cent between Idco and Nalco respectively. The park will be developed over 450 acres of land and 160 acres will be taken up for development in the first phase.
A wide variety of industries using aluminium conductors, extrusions, castings, foils, powder and paste can be set up at the Angul Aluminium Park. Nalco has already agreed to to supply 50,000 tonne per annum (tpa) of molten metal to the aluminium park at Angul for promoting downstream industries.
Besides the aluminium park, two downstream steel parks have been proposed at Angul and Kalinganagar by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) and Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL).