Odisha included in East Coast Economic Corridor

Odisha on its persistent demand has been included in East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), which would cover approximately 1,700 km of coastline in the country, an official statement said here on Friday.

The proposed corridor would be implemented under the joint aegis of the Union and Odisha governments and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the state government said in a release.

A conceptual development plan for the first stage would be prepared by March 2017, the release added.

A meeting was held between senior state officials and ADB team under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here on Friday.

The proposal for Odisha's inclusion in the ECEC and the action plan to carry forward the project was discussed in the meeting.

It was decided that the Industry Secretary and the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of IDCO would be the nodal officers and the industry department would be the nodal department for the project

The corridor would link Odisha with Global Industrial Corridor and Global Value Chain, said the release.

Notably, the state government and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were demanding Odisha's inclusion in the corridor that would facilitate the development of the state.

The proposed project would be India's first coastal corridor. It would cover approximately 1,700 km of coastline and connect six major ports and three of India's deepest draught ports.

The corridor would also connect mineral-rich hinterland having 86 per cent of coal reserves, 82 per cent of iron reserves, 70 per cent of bauxite reserves and 40 per cent of natural gas reserves, said the release.

It would boost the industrial activities in Odisha more particularly in auto, electronics, petrochemicals, petroleum, iron, steel, food processing, textiles, naval shipyards, defence and space exploration.

The project would have two basic dimensions -- investments for infrastructure development and investments for node-centric development.

The meeting decided that the technical teams of the ADB would make assessment of land availability, clearance from coastal areas, flood line, forest area, other restricted areas, connectivity with highways, rail network, proximity to ports, and airports.

--IANS

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