Dikhyaa Mohanty 
With the 33rd meeting of the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), Odisha reached yet another important turning point in its industrial development journey. Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha government approved twelve major industrial projects totaling INR 84,918.75 crore. 42,281 people stand to gain employment opportunities from these projects in a variety of sectors.
The downstream industries of apparel and textiles, green hydrogen and green ammonia, steel, power and renewable energy, and chemical and petroleum will all benefit from these significant investments, which will enhance Odisha’s manufacturing capacity. The State’s districts of Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapada, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Sambalpur, and Sundargarh will all have strategic locations for these projects.
The Welspun Group made a major splash when it entered Odisha. The HLCA gave Welspun Living Limited the all-clear for its plan to build an integrated textile and logistics facility at Choudwar in Cuttack, with a potential investment of INR 3,050 crore and employment potential for 20,210 people, in the apparel and textiles sector. Welspun Corp Limited is also planning to invest INR 3,137 crore in the steel downstream industry. This will be used to establish a 10,00,000 square meter pipe coating plant, 3,00,000 MT ERW pipes, 3,00,000 MT DI pipes, and 1,00,000 MT HSAW pipes in Sambalpur, creating jobs for 3,830 people. Additionally, Welspun’s fully owned subsidiary Sintex BAPL recently received government approval to establish a manufacturing facility for CPVC, UPVC, PVC fittings.
With an investment of INR 13,860 crore and the promise of 1,000 jobs, Welspun New Energy Limited established a 0.70 MMTPA Green Ammonia manufacturing unit in Kendrapada in response to the government’s focus on promoting the green hydrogen and green ammonia sectors.
Sembcorp Green Hydrogen India Private Limited has also invested in this sector, establishing a 0.72 MMTPA Green Ammonia Manufacturing Unit in Gopalpur, Ganjam, with an INR 13,000 crore investment that will create 1,250 jobs. Furthermore, ReNew E-Fuels Private Limited (REFPL) has received approval for an investment of INR 10,005 crore to establish a manufacturing unit for green hydrogen (100 KTPA) and green methanol (500 KTPA) in Malkangiri, as well as an approval for an investment of INR 9,000 crore to establish a manufacturing unit for green hydrogen (60 KTPA) and green methanol (300 KTPA) in Rayagada, creating jobs for 2,400 people.
HLCA gave its approval to Tata Steel’s expansion project in the steel industry to build a 6.50 MTPA HR & CR Coil plant in Dhenkanal. With a value of INR 10,351.11 crore, this massive project is anticipated to generate employment opportunities for 3,725 people. Additionally, Orissa Metallurgical Industry Private Limited was given permission to invest INR 5200 Crore to build a 240 MW captive power plant, a 1 MTPA cement grinding unit, and two MTPA integrated steel plants in Jharsuguda. This project will create jobs for 6,000 people.
In the Steel (Downstream) industry, BMW Industries Limited obtained HLCA approval for an investment of INR 1,094.82 crore to establish a production plant in Kalinganagar, Jajpur, that will produce 1,950 jobs in the areas of ERW Pipe (1000000 MT), HR Pickled Oiled Coil (500000 MT), TMT Bars (500000 MT), and Slitting & Cut to Length (500000 MT).
In the field of Power & Renewable Energy, NTPC Limited was granted permission to build an 800 MW super thermal power plant in Sundergarh, involving an INR 9,208.36 crore investment that is expected to create jobs for 1366 people. In order to establish 1X800 MW Ultra Super Critical Coal Fired Thermal Power Project, HLCA approved another investment of INR 6012.46 crore from Ind Barath Energy Utkal Limited in this sector. It is configured to produce
The approval of Aegis Vopak’s project to build a greenfield tank storage facility for liquid ammonia with a production unit capable of producing 80,000 TPA in Gopalpur, Ganjam, with an investment of INR 1,000 crore and the potential to employ 100 people, significantly boosted the Chemical & Petrochemical downstream sector.
