Bhubaneswar: Announcing a host of projects in Keonjhar, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday said the mineral-rich district will get the third ‘Steel City’ of Odisha after Rourkela in Sundargarh and Kalinganagar in Jajpur.
Speaking at an event during his visit to Keonjhar, the Chief Minister said that the government is taking concrete steps for the transformation of the district by strengthening infrastructure and accelerating industrial activity.
“A mega steel plant will be set up in Keonjhar and the district will be home to the third Steel City of Odisha after Rourkela and Kalinganagar,” Majhi said.
Notably, Korean steel major POSCO and India’s leading steelmaker JSW Steel have collaborated to set up a 6-MTPA steel plant in Patna area of Keonjhar, CM’s home district.
Earlier, Majhi laid the foundation stone for peripheral development project at Ghatagaon Tarini temple to be executed with an expenditure of around Rs 312 crore.
The Chief Minister announced that the state government has initiated the process for the development of an economic zone comprising Keonjhar, Barbil and Joda areas.
Stating that the government has planned six-laning of the roads connecting major mines and industries in Keonjhar, he said a four-lane ring road will be built at Barbil with an expenditure of Rs 2,300 crore. This apart, the government has allocated Rs 428 crore for construction of a bypass at Keonjhar, said Majhi.
He further stated that the Centre has started the construction of an eight-lane road connecting Barbil in Keonjhar and Paradip in Jagatsinghpur. While construction work for Paradip-Chandikhol stretch of the road is underway, survey work is being conducted for construction of the Chandikhol-Barbil portion of the road, the CM said.
Announcing a number of projects for Keonjhar, he said a teach park (Rs 168 crore), a data centre by OCAC (Rs 150 crore) and a textile park (Rs 150 crore) will come up in the district.
A data recovery centre will be set up on the premises of Dharanidhar University in Keonjhar with an expenditure of Rs 187 crore, he said.
While the government is set to spend Rs 103 crore for the development of Raisuan airstrip, Rs 180 crore has been allocated for the construction of a stadium at Keonjhar and Rs 50 crore for development of infrastructure at Sanaghagara waterfall, the Chief Minister said.
