Odisha ideal location for setting up steel industries: CM

With Odisha producing about half of the India's iron ore, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday said the state has become an ideal location for setting up steel industries.

Patnaik said this while addressing the inaugural session of the Conclave on Capital Goods for Steel Sector: Manufacture in India here.

"The state produces about half of the countrys iron ore, which makes it an ideal location for setting up steel industries," he said.

Stating that the installed capacity of crude steel making in Odisha has grown to 33 million tonnes (MT) per annum, Patnaik said the volume was just 4 million tonnes (MT) per annum in 1999-2000.

Stating that Odishas natural strength lies in being a mineral rich State, Patnaik said the state contributes nearly 14 per cent of the total mineral production in India.

"Over the past two decades, my government is focused on enhancing the production level of the key minerals along with manufacturing of value-added products in the state," the chief minister said.

He said Odisha has always been a preferred destination for metal sector investment.

To enhance the downstream eco-system in the steel sector of the state, the state government is bringing out a roadmap 'Vision 2030' for development of downstream units with a focus to achieve more than 50 per cent value addition to the primary metal produced in the state.

"This would become the blueprint for attracting downstream units in the steel sector to the State," Patnaik said.

This apart, Patnaik said Odisha has been taking significant steps in building the support infrastructure for development of industries. Over the last 18 years, the state's port handling capacity has increased by ten fold to 190 million metric tonne (MT) per annum.

Power generation capacity has also increased more than three fold and road network has increased over 50 per cent during this period which are key considerations for growth of the steel sector, he added.