IOC to invest Rs 61,000 crore for naphtha cracker project in Odisha

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) will invest Rs 61,000 crore to set up a naphtha cracker project at Paradip in Odisha, a statement said on Tuesday.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this will be signed between the Odisha government and the IOCL in January during the 'Utkarsh Odisha Make in Odisha 2025' summit, it said.

The foundation stone of the IOC's upcoming Rs 4,352 crore yarn project at Bhadrak will also be laid at that time, it added.

The decisions were taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and IOCL Chairman AS Sahney in Bhubaneswar.

"The Naphtha Project in Paradeep has received in principle approval and IOCL will invest over Rs 61,000 crore for the project. It is likely to be one of the largest projects in the sector in the country. The State Government is an equity holder of this project, and will earn dividends in addition to taxes," said the statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office.

"It was also decided that, the foundation for the upcoming Yarn project of IOCL at Bhadrak will also be laid in January. Rs 4,352 crore will be invested for this project. It was informed that once the project is completed, various large scale garments manufacturing units will come up in the area. Both the projects will create huge employment opportunities for the youth (sic)," it added.

Meanwhile, the ongoing Px-PTA (Para-xylene Purified Terephthalic Acid) project will be commissioned by June, it was informed in the meeting.

The CM also discussed with the IOCL's top brass the proposed floating solar project and ethanol project in the state.

Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, Additional Chief Secretary to CM Nikunja Bihari Dhal and Industries Principal Secretary Hemant Sharma were present at the meeting.