BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government on Tuesday cleared the decks for expansion of five major steel projects entailing a combined investment of Rs 1.46 lakh crore which would help the state double its steel-making capacity.
Chairing the State High-Level Clearance Authority (SHLCA), Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the proposals by Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Tata Steel, Bhushan Power and Steel as well as Rungta Mines.
The existing steel production capacity of Odisha stands at 30 million tonnes per annum and the expansion projects propose to add another 28 million tonnes. Also, this pegs the total investment proposals received by the state at a whopping Rs 4.43 lakh crore during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government said.
Among the major expansions cleared on the day was JSPL’s integrated steel plant at Angul with the existing capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum, which it is scaling up to 18.6 million tonnes. The SHLCA cleared its further expansion to 25.2 million tonnes with an investment of Rs 24,652 crore.