Odisha government okays five investment proposals worth Rs 2.04 lakh crore

The Odisha state government on Monday approved five investment proposals envisaging total investment of Rs 2.04 lakh crore and employment opportunities for 27,645 people.

Indian Oil Corporation will expand its existing refinery unit from 15 million tonnes per annum to 25 million tonnes per annum and set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district with an investment of Rs 100,300 crore. It will comprise of a dual feed cracker, naphtha cracker and petcoke gasification plant employing about 12,595 people.

The project will ensure the availability of building block feedstock to ancillary and downstream units in the chemical and petrochemical sector. Another proposal by Indian Oil to set up 1.2 million tonnes per annum capacity of the purified terephthalic acid complex with an investment of Rs 9,136 crore in its existing Paradip refinery employing around 3,200 people has also been approved.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd will set up a hydrocarbon processing complex comprising of the light crude oil refinery, aromatics complex and ethylene cracker complex near the proposed Subarnarekha port at Balasore district with a total investment of Rs 78,225 crore which will provide job opportunities for 10,000 people.

"These projects will not only make the state a petrochemical hub, propelling the growth of downstream petrochemical units but also make Odisha the energy gateway of the east. Being port-based, these projects will also facilitate the export and import trading," according to a statement.

The state government also approved a proposal by Talcher Fertiliser Ltd to set up a coal-based urea complex with capacity 1.99 million tonnes per annum at Talcher in Angul district with an investment of Rs 14,732 crore employing about 550 people.

In the metal downstream sector, the state government approved the proposal of Jindal India Ltd to set up a cold rolling complex of 0.5 million tonnes per annum capacity and steel processing plant at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex in Jajpur district with an investment of Rs 1,676 crore, providing employment to about 1,300 people.

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