Bhubaneswar: October 23: Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik today joined the ‘Conclave on Capital Goods for Steel Sector: Manufacture in India’, organised by Government of India.
Speaking on the occasion, Odisha CM said, ‘As you all are aware, Odisha’s natural strength lies in being a mineral rich state. The State contributes nearly 14% of the total mineral production in India. Over the past two decades, Odisha Government has focussed on enhancing the production levels of the key minerals along with manufacturing of value added products in the State.’
Claiming that Odisha is the ideal location for setting up Steel Industries, Naveen Patnaik said, ‘Odisha produces about half of the Country’s Iron Ore, which makes it an ideal location for setting up Steel Industries. The installed capacity of crude steel making in Odisha has grown to 33 Million Tonnes per annum today from just 4 Million Tonnes per annum in 1999-2000’.
‘Odisha has always been a preferred destination for Metal Sector investments and to further enhance the downstream ecosystem in the steel sector of the state,Odisha Government is bringing out a road map ‘VISION 2030: Development of Downstream Units’ with focus to achieve more than 50% value addition to the primary metal produced in the state. This would become the blue print for attracting downstream units in the steel sector of the state.’ Chief Minister added.
Naveen said, ‘Enhancing and strengthening the infrastructure in steel sector has been a priority of Odisha Government. The Kalinganagar National Investment Manufacturing Zone presents a symbiotic ecosystem built around the existing steel plants where the downstream industries can thive’.
Speaking on the support infrastructure built in the state, Odisha CM said, My state has taken significant steps in building the support infrastructure for development of Industries. Over last 18 years, our port handling capacity has increased by ten folds to 190 Million Metric Tonnes per annum. Power Generation capacity has increased more than threefold and road network has increased over 50% during this period, which are the key considerations for growth of the Steel Sector.’