Bhubaneswar: In a major boost to Odisha’s manufacturing momentum and green industrial growth, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi inaugurated Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd’s (IMFA) new greenfield expansion at Kalinganagar on Wednesday.
Completed in a record 458 days, just 15 months after its groundbreaking in May 2025, the facility elevates IMFA to the position of India’s largest producer of value-added ferro chrome, pushing the company’s total production capacity beyond 500,000 tonnes per annum (tpa). Beyond scale, the project underscores a focus on efficiency and lower environmental impact. The closed furnaces incorporate 8.7 MW of off-gas power generation and are designed to keep stack particulate emissions below 30 mg/Nm³.
IMFA has also secured a long-term hybrid renewable energy supply agreement to further cut its carbon footprint.
The construction phase alone generated approximately 450,000 man-days of employment. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to support around 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
IMFA Managing Director Subhrakant Panda described the greenfield project as a key step in the company’s expansion. “I am grateful to the state fovernment and all its agencies for extending support to make it possible to achieve first tapping of hot metal in just 15 months, and also thank the Project Team for their utmost dedication and commitment,” he said.
Panda noted that the technology choices — closed furnaces, captive power recovery and renewable energy — aim to maximise efficiency while supporting India’s broader manufacturing goals and economic competitiveness.
