By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 13, 2018: Describing Odisha as the country’s new steel hub, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday invited industrialist from across the country to invest in the state.

Speaking at an investors’ meet in New Delhi ahead of the “Make in Odisha Conclave 2018” to be held in November, Patnaik said with a contribution of around 25 per cent of the country’s steel production, Odisha has transformed into the steel hub of India.

Highlighting various developments of the State, Patnaik said Odisha is the aluminium capital of South Asia accounting for over 54 per cent of the country’s production. It is also fast emerging as the manufacturing hub of eastern India.

“During the last 18 years, the port capacity of the State has increased from 20.5 MMT to 190 MMT while power generation has increased more than three folds and stands at 17, 690 MW. Besides, there has been more than 50 per cent increase in road network of the State,” he said.

The Odisha government has taken various measures to improve infrastructure in the state creating opportunities for business growth, the chief minister added.

“In the last nine months, we have successfully started work on 50 projects with more than Rs 17,000 crore investments. This has the potential to provide employment opportunities for around 21,000 people in the state,” Patnaik said.

Patnaik invited investors to attend the second edition of the ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave which will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 11 to 15.

Referring to the Make in Odisha Conclave, he said its theme ‘I am Odisha’ would celebrate all successes of Odisha and people creating a vibrant ecosystem for business. The event will enable the investors to know more about the investment opportunities in Odisha, Patnaik added.

Organised in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), business leaders from over 300 leading companies participated in the road show to explore attractive growth opportunities across Odisha’s focus sectors.

During the event, Patnaik also launched a single user-friendly portal “Invest Odisha”, which would enable investors to compare the competitiveness of Odisha with other states and countries and take informed investment decisions.