By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 19, 2019: The dream of Odisha emerging as a steel may soon be realized with union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan taking initiative in this direction.

The state already has presence of major steel producers, such as Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, in the state. But the withdrawal of two big FDI projects, Psoco and ArcelorMittal’s mega steel plants worth of Rs one lakh crore came as a set back to the state emerging as steel hub.

Pradhan on Thursday held a meeting with industry stakeholders and senior officers to discuss road map for developing a steel hub in Odisha.

“Met with steel industry stakeholders and senior officials of the Ministry to chart out a road map for setting up a steel hub in Odisha. The state is amongst the richest mineral-bearing states of the country,” he said in a tweet.

Given the unique competitive advantages over the other states, it is projected that Odisha has a potential to contribute towards additional steel production of approximately 80 MT per annum taking the total production of steel in the State to more than 100 MT by FY 2031 – more than 40% of the country’s steel production.

Pradhan reiterated that out of the 300 million tonne steel production targeted under the steel policy, Pradhan said 100 million tonnes will be produced in Odisha.

In a separate tweet, Pradhan said he also had a detailed discussion with stakeholders of the secondary steel sector on overcoming challenges faced by the industry such as availability of raw materials, expiry of mining lease to enable them to ramp up production.

“Odisha’s unique location, proximity to ports, emerging steel infrastructure and skilled manpower presents a huge opportunity to further develop it as a steel manufacturing hub for the economic and industrial development of the State. This will also lead to a large scale job creation,” his tweet said.

Pradhan and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik discussed ways to enhance the state’s footprints in the steel sector during their meeting at New Delhi in June.

After the meeting with Naveen, Pradhan had said the Centre was committed to develop Odisha as an international hub for steel sector’s ancillary industries.

The state government has also shown its keenness on making Odisha a preferred destination for ancillary and downstream manufacturers in the steel sector.

Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste, Steel Secretary Binoy Kumar and Join Secretary Puneet Kansal attended the meeting in New Delhi.