Bhubaneswar: In a significant move to accelerate industrial execution, the Odisha government has handed over land documents covering over 7,000 acres for an integrated greenfield aluminium complex to a joint venture between the Adani Group and International Resources Holding (IRH).
The allotment was formalised by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi in the presence of India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, marking a remarkably swift turnaround of just 67 days from the signing of the initial memorandum of understanding on July 2.
The $11.5 billion (around ₹1.08 trillion) venture, structured as a 50:50 joint venture between Adani Enterprises Limited and IRH, is described as India’s largest foreign direct investment in mining and metallurgy and Odisha’s biggest FDI proposal. It will encompass the full aluminium value chain, including a 4 million tonnes per annum alumina refinery, a 2 million tonnes per annum aluminium smelter, a 1 million tonnes per annum downstream manufacturing park, and a 4,000 megawatt captive power plant that incorporates 400 megawatts of green power capacity. Development is planned in two phases across the two districts, with roughly ₹66,000 crore allocated for the first phase and ₹42,000–44,000 crore for the second. The alumina refinery will be located in Rayagada, nearer to bauxite sources, while the smelter and power plant will be established in Sundaragada. The project is expected to generate around 53,500 jobs across construction and operations.
The complete footprint will also feature a 1 mtpa downstream manufacturing park, executed across two planned phases.
This swift progress follows closely on agreements signed during the Chief Minister’s recent outreach in the UAE, where state officials emphasised Odisha’s revamped speed of doing business aimed at minimising administrative lag for major global investors. Impressed by the rapid land acquisition process, IHC has expressed intent to scale its total investment footprint in the state to $22 billion (nearly ₹2.1 trillion). “We started our engagement with IHC with an $11.5 billion FDI commitment, and now they have doubled the proposed investment. The company is interested in investing $22 billion in Odisha, with the only condition being that the state government maintains the same speed of doing business,” Business Standard reported, quoting, Industries Secretary Hemant Sharma.
The expanded framework encompasses agreements for 14 prospective projects spanning critical minerals, artificial intelligence data centres, shipbuilding clusters, petrochemicals, renewable energy platforms, and specialised industrial infrastructure, with the potential to create nearly 189,700 direct and indirect employment opportunities across Odisha.