BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday embarked on a three-day visit to Mumbai to participate in India Chem 2026, a biennial event of chemical and petrochemical industries beginning Thursday.
Majhi will lead the investment outreach and hold discussions with representatives of more than 20 major companies in the two-day event to be inaugurated by Union minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers JP Nadda.
The chief minister will attend the inaugural session and a CEO roundtable chaired by Nadda. The meetings will focus on fresh investments, downstream manufacturing, industrial expansion and potential new ventures in Odisha.
Majhi is among the five chief ministers, the others being from Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, to attend the event. This reflects the growing importance of Odisha in shaping India’s chemical and petrochemical manufacturing landscape.
Additional chief secretary, Industries, Hemant Sharma said the event will provide Odisha an opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities and strengthen engagement with domestic and international industry stakeholders.
“Odisha will court fresh investments in chemicals and petrochemicals seeking to build on a proposed investment pipeline of Rs 1.93 lakh crore and position itself as a major manufacturing hub beyond mining and metallurgy,” he said.
Sharma said 56 companies have proposed investments over Rs 1.93 lakh crore in the state’s chemical and petrochemical sector, with an estimated employment potential of over 1.12 lakh people. Of these, 27 projects have been grounded or inaugurated, representing investments of Rs 60,825.34 crore and a potential to generate 35,351 jobs.
“Odisha has a strong industrial foundation and we are now focused on expanding our presence in high-potential sectors such as chemicals and petrochemicals,” said Sharma.
He said a key highlight of the state’s participation will be a presentation on coal gasification project, an emerging area of industrial opportunity for Odisha.
“The chief minister may also announce the establishment of a dedicated large-scale chemical industrial park as part of the state government’s efforts to strengthen the industrial ecosystem, promote value addition and attract investments across the chemical, petrochemical, plastics and packaging segments,” Sharma said.
The latest investment push also builds on developments in Jajpur where nine projects: five inaugurations and four groundbreaking ceremonies, involving investments of Rs 4,136 crore, are expected to create 1,508 jobs.
