BHUBANESWAR: Even as Maharashtra and Gujarat are the leading States as far as investment is concerned, Odisha has taken a lead in investment implementation rate and is the No.1 in the country.
Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said the investment implementation rate has gone up in Odisha, which happens to be the third largest investment destination in the country. “Earlier the under-implementation rate was 75 percent and it has now come down to 43 percent,” he told ‘The Express’.
As per a recent study by the apex industry body, the State has around 900 live projects which have attracted nearly Rs 13 lakh crore investment out of around Rs 177 lakh crore in the country.
“The investments made in food processing and infrastructure sectors will create more value addition for the State. The Government has to be aggressive in marketing its policies abroad and try to get more investments,” he suggested.
Since land acquisition has become a major hurdle in implementation of projects, Assocham has recommended the Centre and State Governments to make the landowners partners in the prosperity.
“As the compensation package for farmers is not adequate for their sustainability, if the Government goes in providing them jobs, equity share by not making them partners in loss but in the profitability, people will be happy to offer their land,” Rawat said.
Highlighting the importance of port development, he said the Orissa High Court’s decision to dispose the case pertaining to setting up 13 non-major ports along its 480 km long coastline will further boost the prospect of port infrastructure and bring investment.
Odisha has notified 14 non-major ports of which two are functional at Dhamra and Gopalpur. The cargo handling capacity of the two ports has grown from five million tonnes to 25 million tonnes in the last five years.
Assocham chief advisor Dr Arvind Kumar said the State can become gateway port for Asian and East Asian region for its potential and ancient maritime links.
Paradip port is the second largest in the country and it handles about 90 million tonnes of cargo. The advantage of Paradip and Dhamra ports is that both have sufficient draft, which can handle huge container vessels.
The cost of handling cargo would be much lower in Dhamra and Paradip (after its outer harbour is developed) than other ports in India. Though Odisha has a long coastline of 480 km, as of now no port here is handling much container traffic. Odisha can leverage the location advantage of Paradip port due to its close proximity to the steel hub, he said.
“If steel producers start using Paradip and Dhamra ports, the freight cost of steel exports would come down. One of the upcoming ports is located at the confluence of Subarnarekha river and once the dredging is completed under the national waterways project, it would be a perfect match because of the combination of port and the inland waterways,” Kumar added.