Bhubaneswar: Asserting that India’s growth cannot remain one-sided, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Wednesday said the next phase of industrial expansion must be powered by the east coast, with Odisha positioning as a natural gateway for the country’s next wave of growth.
Majhi said this while addressing industry leaders during his second-day visit to Gujarat and a tour to Mundra Port.
While the West Coast has emerged as a major hub for maritime trade and industrial activity, the East Coast is now at a decisive inflexion point, with Odisha ready to replicate and scale similar success, the chief minister was quoted in a statement issued by the CMO.
What has been achieved on the West Coast must now be expanded on the East. Odisha offers the ecosystem, connectivity, and policy support to enable that transition, he said and highlighted the state’s strategic access to Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Indo-Pacific region.
Calling for a structural shift, Majhi proposed a ‘two-coast strategy’, urging industry leaders to integrate operations across both seaboards, leveraging western strength while tapping eastern opportunities. Balanced coastal development is essential for India’s long-term competitiveness. The East Coast will play a defining role in the next decade of growth, he added.
Accompanied by Odisha’s Industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain, chief secretary Anu Garg, additional chief secretary, Industries Hemant Sharma and senior officials, Majhi engaged with industry stakeholders, presenting Odisha’s policy framework, infrastructure readiness, and facilitation-driven governance model.
As part of the visit, the delegation undertook a guided tour of Mundra Port via the Mundra Industrial Area and SEZ, covering key facilities including the Container Jetty and the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Jetty, demonstrating large-scale cargo handling capabilities.
The delegation also passed through the West Port area and a copper manufacturing unit, and visited solar cell and wind turbine component manufacturing facilities, reflecting the scale of integrated industrial development, an official statement said.
While reinforcing Odisha’s economic trajectory, the chief minister highlighted that 433 investment proposals worth Rs 8.37 lakh crore have been approved in the last 22 months, and 148 projects worth Rs 2.86 lakh crore have already been grounded during the time.
In Odisha, investment intent is translating into implementation with speed and scale, he said.
He further informed the investors regarding the opportunities across logistics, chemicals, petrochemicals, and downstream manufacturing, supported by expanding infrastructure and industrial ecosystems.
An official statement released by the Industries department said that the visit reinforced Odisha’s strategic focus on port-led industrialisation, with coastal infrastructure emerging as the backbone of its economic expansion. Through industrial corridors, logistics hubs, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the state is building integrated ecosystems that seamlessly connect manufacturing with global markets, it said.
With ports at Dhamra, Paradip, and Gopalpur driving connectivity and industrial clustering, Odisha is steadily emerging as a high-impact growth engine on India’s east coast, it said.
