By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 21, 2020: In a bid to revive the economy virtually shattered by the deadly Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, the Odisha government has moved ahead with investment plans by clearing six investment proposals.

The High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday cleared two investment proposals worth Rs 9,100.29 crore, an official release said adding that the proposals will provide employment to over 6,500 people in the state.

Four other planned projects were also approved by the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA), which are expected to provide jobs to more than 1,200 people.

More than Rs 8,850 crore was committed towards two investment proposals that include the proposal of Rungta Mines Limited (RML)for setting up an expansion of its Integrated Steel Plant project from 0.9 MTPA to 2.85 MTPA capacity, with Captive Power Plant of 385 MW and 1.69 MTPA Cement Plant (in two phases) at Jharbandh, in Dhenkanal district entailing an investment of Rs. 7836.90 crore. The proposed steel plant will provide employment to about 4900 people.

The other proposal is by Dhunseri Ventures Limited for setting up Maleic Anhydride manufacturing unit with annual capacity of 60,000MT at Paradeep, with a total investment of Rs. 1013.29 crore that promised employment to 350 people.

The SLSWCLA cleared a proposal of Niren Kumar Anand for setting up Footwear manufacturing unit of capacity 1 million pieces with an investment of Rs. 62.44 crore and employing around 620 people. Though the project is first of its kind in the state and has immense potential for further employment generation, it has created controversy as the footwear company is based in China.

The Narendra Modi government recently revised its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules to avert any opportunistic business takeover deals during the coronavirus crisis. But the authorities do not foresee any roadblock to this investment.

Similarly, the SLSECA cleared a proposal by Kashvi International to set up an additional 1.2 MTPA Iron Ore beneficiation Plant to its 0.6 MTPA Iron Ore Pelletization Plant, with an investment of Rs. 55.23 crore and providing employment to about 50 people.

It also cleared the proposal of Purosteel India Pvt. Ltd to set up a manufacturing unit such as tubes and Pipes PVD Coating, furniture fabrication, finished sheets and profiles, trimes plant with an investment of Rs. 53.42 crore providing employment opportunities for 200 people.

The proposal of Odisha Carriers and Trade for setting up three logistics Park cum Fulfillment centres, with an investment of Rs. 80 crore promising employment opportunities for 405 people also got cleared by the SLSWCA.