By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, November 5, 2020: The Odisha government on Thursday gave in-principle approval for five mega investment proposals worth Rs 92,713 crore at the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

These projects if implemented will generate employment for 31,979 people, officials said.

The proposals were primarily in the metal sector beginning with beneficiation to manufacturing of pellets, iron, steel, stainless steel, rolled products as well as cement utilising waste products like slag and fly ash from other industries.

The projects included expansion project of Jindal Steel and Power Limited’s Integrated steel plant in Angul from 6 MTPA to 18.6 MTPA, 36 MTPA Slurry Pipeline and 12.5 MTPA cement plant with an investment of Rs 76,018 crore. This project is expected to generate employment for over 24,350 persons in two phases, a release from chief minister’s office said.

The proposal of expansion project of Jindal Stainless Steel Limited’s capacity from 1.1 MTPA to 3.2 MTPA and Cold Rolling Mill capacity from 0.8 MTPA to 2.4 MTPA with an investment of Rs 6,840 crore in Kalinganagar, Jajpur, also got the nod of the HLCA. This project will create jobs for over 2,236 persons.

Essar Minmet Limited’s proposal of 14 MTPA Beneficiation and 14 MTPA Pellet Plant and 14 MTPA Slurry pipeline at an investment of Rs 6,650 crore to be set up in Keonjhar and Paradip also got the approval. The project has the potential to create employment opportunities for over 1,468 persons, the release added.

Expansion project proposal of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited’s Beneficiation Plant in Keonjhar from 10.76 MTPA to 16.76 MTPA and Pellet Plant at Paradip from 6 MTPA to 12 MTPA, at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, also got approval. This will create employment opportunities for over 655 persons.

Shyam Metalics and Energy Limited’s expansion project of its steel plant project in Pandloi, Sambalpur from 0.77 MTPA to 2.373 MTPA and rolling mill against an investment of Rs 1,205 crore was also cleared by the HLCA, which promises to generate employment for over 3,270 persons.

While endorsing these projects, the chief minister stressed on the importance of accelerating the growth of industries in the state and directed all agencies of the state government to work in a coordinated manner to achieve the goals of rapid industrial growth leading to employment generation in the state.

Patnaik also directed the chief secretary to review the progress of these projects and keep him apprised of the progress on a regular basis.

“The industrial economy of Odisha has quickly revived. The state has approved investments worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore since February 2020 with potential employment for 53,000 persons,” Patnaik said.