Adani to invest Rs 5,000 crore in Odisha

Stating that the company anticipated that the new investment would create an additional job for 10,000 people, says Adani

Noting that Odisha with its long coastline and natural resources has become the single most important state in Eastern India for the company, Adani Group chairman Goutam Adani on Thursday said they have plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the state.

"Our overall investment plans in Odisha stand at over Rs 12,000 crore and we have already started working on additional plans to raise this investment even higher to Rs 15,000 crore," Adani said while addressing the inaugural session of the Make in Odisha Conclave here.

Stating that the company anticipated that the new investment would create an additional job for 10,000 people, Adani said besides a long coastline, rivers like Mahanadi and Brahmani makes Odisha one of the most fertile states in India and with its mineral wealth spanning coal, iron ore, bauxite, chrome ore, and manganese, few states can match nature's generosity on the state.

Adani also highlighted the political stability in the state with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik being elected four times in a row.

He said the Dhamra Port was a profitable venture within the first 12 months of taking over by the Adani Group. The company has built and commissioned a massive new berth of 15 million tonne capacity. As a result, the port has grown its cargo handling capacity by 51%.

"By March 2017, we will add yet another berth in Dhamra and double the capacity of the port to 50 million tonnes - all achieved in a period of less than three years," he said.

The port has completed the construction of two million tonnes of barge berth capacity required to enable movement of coal through the National Inland Waterway 5, he said.

Given Dhamra Port's strategic location, this would be a game changer in transportation of coal across the Brahmani River and carry coal from the Talcher region to Dhamra, Adani said.

This apart, the Group has also started the work required to construct a LNG terminal of 5 MMT capacity entailing an investment of Rs 5,200 crore and a LPG terminal of 2.5 MMT capacity, which would see an additional investment of Rs 2,300 crore, he said.

"These two terminals will change the face of Dhamra Port and go a long way in helping close the gap on Odisha's energy requirements and importantly support various local ancillary industries," he said.

Noting that Dhamra would emerge as the gateway to the entire Asean region soon, Adani said the company needs support of the state government for development of an industrial park similar to the one it has built alongside Mundra Port in Gujarat.

"As per the master plan we have in mind, we anticipate Dhamra having 35 berths with total port capacity of a mammoth 315 million tonnes. This can make Dhamra the largest port and port-based industrial cluster in India," Adani added.