Expedite land allotment for petro projects: Pradhan to Naveen

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to expedite land allotment for the upcoming projects in the petroleum sector in Paradip.

Stating that IOCL is about to finalise its almost Rs 40,000 crore investments in new projects in Odisha, Pradhan in a letter to Patnaik wrote that petcoke gasification-based projects and a refinery capacity expansion project at Paradip required land allotment.

A textile park project at Bhadrak also requires land allotment, Pradhan wrote in the letter.

The Union petroleum minister also wrote that Taiwans state-owned petroleum firm CPC Corporation has come forward for investing Rs 43,000 crore in its greenfield petrochemical projects in Paradip.

That also required land allotment, he said in the letter written on Wednesday.

"It is rather unfortunate and discouraging that the Odisha government has not allotted the required land yet for the projects," Pradhan wrote.

He requested the chief minister to issue directions to officials so that the projects could move forward for better development of Odisha and its youths.

Pradhan said that the proposed investments by CPC and Indian Oil Corporation would not only contribute to the state's economy but also lead to direct and indirect employment generation for the youths of the state.