Bhubaneswar, July 6 (IANS): The Odisha government on Tuesday accorded in-principle approval to five big industrial projects worth Rs 1,46,172 crore in the sectors of metal and metal downstream. These projects, upon grounding, will generate employment for 26,959 people, official sources said.
The proposals were approved by the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
The state government has approved the expansion of Bhushan Power and Steel Limited's integrated steel plant at Rengali in Sambalpur district. The company has proposed to enhance its capacity from 5 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to 15 MMTPA with an investment of Rs 55,000 crore, which will have the potential to generate employment opportunities for over 10,000 persons, it said.
Expansion of Tata Steel Limited's crude steel production from 3 MTPA to 8 MTPA, hot rolled coil from 3 MTPA to 7 MTPA, 2.2 MTPA cold-rolled products and 2 MTPA long products were also approved by the panel.
The firm proposed to invest Rs 47,599 crore to set up these projects at its plant at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district. These projects have potential employment opportunities for over 4,625 persons.
The state government has also approved the expansion of Jindal Steel and Power Limited's 6 MTPA existing integrated steel plant in Angul from the proposed capacity of 18.6 MTPA to 25.2 MTPA against an investment of Rs 24,652 crore.
The expansion of JSPL is likely to create employment for over 1,000 persons. This investment will take JSPL's total investment to Rs 1,00,670 crore, making it the largest single location steel plant capacity in the world.
The Rungta Mines Limited's proposal to enhance its capacity at its integrated steel plant, from the proposed capacity of 2.85 MMTPA to 7.55 MMTPA by adding a capacity of 4.7 MMTPA also got the government's approval.
The company has proposed to invest Rs 11,001 crore at Jharbandh in Dhenkanal district, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 6,200 persons.
Another expansion plan of Rungta Mines Limited for its steel plant at Karakhendra in Keonjhar district also got approval on Tuesday. The company has proposed to enhance its capacity from 0.53 MMTPA to 3 MMTPA with an investment of Rs 7,920 crore. This project proposal will generate employment for over 5,134 persons.
With this additional steel making facility of 28 MT, Odisha will gear up to achieve its target to produce 100 MT steel by 2030, the CMO said.