13 Companies Withdrew Projects From Odisha After Signing MoU With Previous Govt, Says Minister

Bhubaneswar: As many as 13 major companies withdrew their industrial projects in Odisha after signing MoUs with the previous government, said Minister of State for Industries Sampad Chandra Swain in Assembly on Friday.

In a written reply to MLA Aswini Kumar Patra, the minister said these companies had signed the agreement with the previous BJD government to set up industries in different sectors in the state. Later, they called off the projects on various grounds, he added.

Those companies include Arcelor Mittal India, POSCO, Maharashtra Seamless, Sterlite Industries, Tata Power, Arati Steel, Angul Energy (Bhusan Energy), CESC, Kalinga Energy and Power and RSB Metallics.

While Arcelor Mittal had proposed an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, POSCO evinced interest in a project of Rs 51,000 crore, the minister said.

On the other hand, no industrial house has cancelled its proposed project under the present government, the minister said while speaking to media persons outside the Assembly.

On the status of Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel’s project, he said the tehsildar has already released the advertisement for land deals in the area of the proposed industry. The road works to the project site were going on at fast pace and power connection would be provided within 18 months, he added.