Orissa has emerged as the numero uno state in attracting investors across sectors, carrying forward its investor friendly momentum.
The state has attracted investments to the tune of Rs 13.66 lakh crore till January 2012, the highest among all states, making it the biggest investment grosser, minister for industries and steel & mines Raghunath Mohanty informed the state assembly.
The investment figure is according to the latest data collated by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under Government of India.
The minister said, the state has pulled investments worth Rs 1.67 lakh crore in the power sector from 29 independent power producers for establishment of thermal power stations. The state government had also inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 50 steel players, attracting investments of over Rs 2 lakh crore of which 30 small and medium steel projects had begun partial production.
In order to create a conducive atmosphere for industrialization, the state government has stepped in with policy interventions like Orissa Industries Facilitation Act-2204, Industrial Policy Resolution-2007 and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Development Policy-2009.
Besides, the state has taken steps to boost industrial infrastructure by identification of sites for industrial clusters and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and also industrial parks such as IT park, biotechnology park and ancillary downstream parks, Mohanty said.
A Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) has also been proposed at Paradip, he added.
The PCPIR project in the state would be set up on 284.15 sq km (70,214 acres) of land spread over Jagatsnghpur and Kendrapara districts. The PCPIR hub is expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs 2.74 lakh crore.
Phase-I work of the project is expected to be completed by 2015 while the entire project is scheduled for commissioning by 2030.
Of the expected overall investment figure of Rs 2.74 lakh crore, the lion's share would come from the petroleum and petrochemicals sectors at Rs 2.3 lakh crore followed by housing and allied infrastructure at Rs 23,500 crore, external infrastructure at Rs 13,634 crore and Rs 3,500 crore each for chemicals & fertilizers and ancillary sectors.
The mega project is set to create employment for 6.48 lakh people which includes direct employment for 2.27 lakh people and indirect employment for 4.41 lakh others.
The Orissa government has committed an expenditure of Rs 1,796 crore on infrastructure development for the PCPIR hub. Out of the envisaged expenditure of Rs 1,796 crore, Rs 754 crore will be spent on development of arterial roads, Rs 465 crore on water supply, Rs 410 crore on power distribution and Rs 136 crore on canal upgradation.
