Odisha Industries Secretary Sanjeev Chopra invited companies from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to take part in the second edition of biennial Make in Odisha Conclave-2018 to be held in Bhubaneshwar from November 11 to 15.
At a press briefing held on the occasion of investors’ meet here on Thursday, Mr. Chopra said Odisha, the only mineral-metal rich State with a coastal line, was in line for big-time investments with firms like Nalco, Tata Steel, Jindal, Vedanta and others poised to set up plants in the newly-carved out industrial cluster parks.
He said the State has earmarked 1.25 lakh acres of land for setting up new industrial units on GIS maps for prospective investors to mark the required sites online.
Already, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is building a vaccine manufacturing plant at Bhubaneshwar and Toshali Cements is setting up a cement plant in Cuttack district while hospitals like CARE, Apollo, Sunshine and L.V. Prasad Eye Institute are expanding their presence.
Apart from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) hosting a road show to highlight the advantages of the upcoming Plastics Park at Paradip for manufacturing units, the prospective investors from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were informed of the low land cost, power tariff, skilled labour and quick appraisal of projects.
Mr. Chopra said Odisha has embarked on a multi-pronged approach to attract investors, one of them being a skills development initiative in various crafts, including IT/ITES, under the leadership of Mindtree’s Subrato Bagchi.
Four large industrial regions have been identified at Paradip, Kalinganagar, Dhamra and Gopalpur with four new ports proposed, including the Suvernarekha by the Tatas.
The Industries Secretary said Odisha along with A.P., Gujarat and Maharashtra is also bidding for the country’s first coastal economic zone. The State has a good record of investment proposals converted into actual projects with 46 of the 92 MoUs receiving firm commitment between 2003-2012, he said.
In the previous conclave, about 76 commitments were made from 124 proposals with an estimated investment of ₹3.6 lakh crore, he added.
