Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has called upon Asian steel makers to set up shop in the state and make use of the rich iron ore, coal, chrome and other mineral deposits in the state.
“I invite steel producers to set up their units in Orissa and the government will offer the best possible facilitation,” Patnaik said.
He was addressing the inaugural session of the 7th Asia Steel Conference – 2018, organised jointly by the Indian Institute of Metals and Tata Steel here.
Patnaik said that Orissa is a mineral rich state with abundant resources of iron ore, coal, chrome and other minerals and the government has been providing support for the development of mineral based Industries.
He said Orissa is producing about half the country’s iron ore — the critical input for steel making — and it has a competitive advantage in steel production.
From the installed capacity of about only four million tonnes per annum of crude steel in 1999-2000, the state now has 47 steel industries with a total capacity of over 33 million tonnes per annum which is about a fourth of the country’s total installed capacity. The pellet plants have an installed capacity of about 29 million tonnes per annum, he pointed out.
As the National Steel Policy-2017 envisages increase in per capita steel consumption from the present 61 kg to 158 kg by 2030, Patnaik said Orissa is aiming to contribute substantially to this target.
“My government has taken several initiatives to facilitate industries. We have introduced the policy of long term linkage of iron ore, chrome ore and other minerals to state based industries through the Odisha Mining Corporation Limited,” he said.
Patnaik said a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone is being developed at Kalinganagar. The zone is envisaged to become self-contained along with residential, commercial and social amenities, he said, adding, that it will enable investors to set up value added downstream units. Besides Patnaik, Union Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma, Asia Steel International Conference Chairman Anand Sen, Indian Institute of Metals President Dr Biswajit Basu also attended.
PNN
