Archive for the 'DISTRICTS & BLOCKS' Category

Update on Khurda-Balangir and Haridaspur-Paradip; Railway board urged to make additional ex-gratia payment to land losers (From Samaja)

Balangir, Bouda, Haridaspur - Paradeep (under constr.), Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Khordha, Khurda Rd - Balangir (under constr.), Nayagarha Comments Off on Update on Khurda-Balangir and Haridaspur-Paradip; Railway board urged to make additional ex-gratia payment to land losers (From Samaja)

IOC aims to start Paradip refinery by March 2012: Economic Times

IOC, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Petrochemicals, Refinery Comments Off on IOC aims to start Paradip refinery by March 2012: Economic Times

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) today said its Rs 29,777-crore Paradip refinery in Orissa will be commissioned by March 2012 and will cater to domestic market rather than exports as previous thought, due to rise in fuel demand at home.

…The refinery will produce 5.97 million tons of diesel, 3.4 million tons of petrol, 1.45 million tons of kerosene/ATF, 536,000 tons of LPG, 124,000 tons of naphtha and 335,000 tons of sulphur, all of which will be for sale in domestic market.

Some of 200,000 tons of propylene to be produced by the unit may be exported, he said.

Bankapur said the refinery will start producing fuel by March 2012 when it will commission the primary units like Crude Distillation Unit. Secondary units will be commissioned by July, 2012, and operations stabilised by November, 2012.

Besides the Rs 29,777 crore cost of refinery, the Paradip project also includes a Rs 1,793 crore pipeline to Raipur and Ranchi. The 1,100 km pipeline will carry fuel produced in the unit to consumers in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Besides, a marketing terminal at the cost of Rs 414 crore is also being built.

IOC may take companies like Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum as equity partner in the Paradip refinery if they agree to supply most of the crude oil requirement of the 15 million tons unit.

The company wants someone who can commit long-term crude supply as equity partner but so far nothing has materalised.

IOC had last year signed a loan agreement with a consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India for term loan of Rs 14,900 crore for the project.

Bankapur said the company had some time back split the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex into two, deciding to complete the refinery first and follow with the chemical unit.

The feasibility of setting up the petrochem complex will be studied in next 3-4 months, he said.

The Paradip refinery is being configured to process the toughest, heaviest and the dirtiest crudes which are cheaper than the cleaner and easier varieties.

The refinery will have a Nelson Complexity Index of 13, the highest in the world.

Update on Tata Steel projects in Kalinganagar and Gopalpur

Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Ganjam, Industrial Parks, Jajpur, Jajpur Rd- Vyasanagar- Duburi- Kalinganagar, Steel, Tatas 4 Comments »

Following is from a PTI report in http://www.smartinvestor.in/market/Marketnews-45973-Marketnewsdet-Tata_Steel_project_to_come_upinOrissaby_2014.htm.

Tata Steel is optimistic about operating its proposed industrial park project at Gopalpur in Orissa’s Ganjam district and commissioning the steel plant at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district by 2014.

The company gave this assurance to the state government today when Tata Steel’s Managing Director H M Nerurkar met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a review meeting on the proposed industrial park at Gopalpur.

"We will be able to operate the industrial park at Gopalpur by March 2013 and commission first phase (3 mtpa) of the steel plant at Kalinga Nagar by March 2014," Nerurkar told reporters after meeting the chief minister.

Stating that work on both the projects is going on smoothly, the Tata Steel MD said that a peaceful industrial environment was gradually being established at Kalinga Nagar where the company’s proposed 6mtpa steel plant was being set up.

Though the company had signed MoU to set up a 6mtpa greenfield steel factory at an investment of Rs 15,600 crore in 2004, the project could not meet the deadline of 2010 due to opposition from the local people.

However, now the new commissioning target was March 2014, Nerurkar said, adding that the company had so far invested Rs 1,500 crore in the steel plant project. Tata Steel has also placed equipment orders worth Rs 6,300 crore and some machinery had reached the project site.

About 60 per cent of the land at Kalinga Nagar industrial complex had been acquired so far, Nerurkar said.

Referring to the Industrial Park, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Chief Minister on August 20 earlier, Nerurkar said that construction of the boundary wall work was going on smoothly.

The industrial park is expected to attract investment of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore and generate employment for about 10,000 people, company sources said, adding Tata Steel would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the project.

The proposed Industrial Park includes a 50,000-TPA ferro chrome plant and 400,000-TPA rebar steel mill. Both the units were expected to generate employment opportunities for more than 1,000 people.

The park will primarily attract investments in steel and allied downstream industries, engineering, chemicals and other emerging sectors.

The company which had initially acquired land for setting up a steel plant in mid 90s, however, scrapped the project due to non-availability of water for the purpose.

Tata Steel would use techniques to use sea water by desaliation besides designing rainwater harvesting and 100 per cent recycling.

Tata Steel group is investing Rs 35,000 crore in the steel, ferro alloys, port, power and other sectors in Orissa.

Dr. Prasanna Mishra (retired IAS and ex-Chairman Paradip Port) on why he would prefer a captive port for POSCO project

Jagatsinghpur, Jatadhari port (POSCO), Paradeep port, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga Comments Off on Dr. Prasanna Mishra (retired IAS and ex-Chairman Paradip Port) on why he would prefer a captive port for POSCO project

Following is from http://dailypioneer.com/290501/Why-I-would-prefer-a-captive-port-for-Posco-steel-project.html.


Getting into the port town of Paradip after the ordeal of a tiring long journey from Cuttack on the State Highway is refreshing; sweeter than reaching an oasis after a long wandering in a vast desert depicting inertia and obscurantism. The experience of the musical fountain in a well-nurtured garden, the sight of a modest golf course, the neat avenues and bountiful hospitality linger on for long. The port has been expanding. Whereas the port handled 30 million tonnes (MT) of cargo in 2004-05, it handled an impressive 57 MT in 2009-10. This is the port I had served as chairman for five years, many years ago.

Many incidents surface in my memory — the removal of the two sunken dredgers close to the entrance channel of the port; the visit of the chairman of Indian Oil Corporation for setting up a refinery. Then, the Posco team’s visit for setting up a steel plant at the port town and Chief Minister Biju Patnaik’s long discussion on the issue with the visiting Koreans at the port guesthouse. At the guesthouse, one finds the foundation stone for the port with the prophetic description of the birth of the port ‘as yet another national adventure’ by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

History is perhaps going to repeat itself. We are likely to see yet another national adventure on the coast, about 10 km south of the Paradip lighthouse. Should this happen, India’s east coast would have the most modern captive port at Jatadhari that would handle vessels of 170,000—220,000 DWT. The port would have facilities for handling smaller vessels as well. This port would be coming up at a time when the country is in great need to increase port capacity to bridge a huge anticipated capacity-gap of around 250 MT for dry cargo by 2013. On any given day, about 150 ships are waiting at anchorage in Indian waters. This amounts to an annual loss of `2,400 crore. Kandla Port handled the highest traffic in 2009-10 with 79.52 MT, and all the Major Ports handled 561 MT during the year. Share of traffic of the non-major ports has been increasing. It has risen to 206 MT in 2009-10 representing 37.5 per cent of the traffic of Major Ports.

The port sector, however, has to do much more. India’s Shipping Minister recently announced plans to triple capacity in the next 10 years so that India’s total capacity is boosted to 3,200 MT. Therefore, pace of entry of private players into the port sector has to gain momentum. Pipavav, Mundra, Krishnapatnam and Dahija are successful ports developed though private investment. Private developers would also be creating new ports at Dighi and Rewas (Maharashtra), Vizhinjam (Kerala), Kalpi (West Bengal), Gopalpur and Dhamra (Odisha). Private investments have also been made in different terminals of Major Ports like JNPT, Cochin, Haldia, Vizag, Tuticorin and Chennai. More private investments would only make our port sector viable and competitive.

The location of the proposed port at Jatadhari, south of the existing Paradip Port, would create immense opportunities for development of infrastructure facilities. Most promising opportunity for the people could be in the eight-lane expressway to connect the new port with Bhubaneswar.

One would only wish that the planners for the highway do not succumb to pressure for a zigzag alignment for the road so that it runs close to thick habitations .A straight line alignment, on the other hand, would induce planned development of the area. The proposed 12-km six-lane road along the coast would connect Paradip and the new port and make this stretch of the shore extremely popular with tourists. Besides, the new port would have connectivity with the NH-5A and the State Highway connecting Cuttack. At least two rail connections, one with Cuttack-Paradip line and the other with the proposed Haridaspur-Paradip line, would provide access to the steel plant and the new port. Plans are afoot for a dedicated rail-line from the mines to the new port. Though linking Jakhapura (on Kolkata-Chennai trunk route) with Banspani (in the mining belt) would be helpful, this line would not provide convenient access to many rich iron ore deposits of Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts. A new line should therefore connect Barsuan with the Banspani-Keojhar section and Barsuan should be connected with Talcher. The new port should be connected by a new rail-line with either Barang or Bhubaneswar by avoiding Cuttack. Such a comprehensive rail network only would ensure complete integration of the existing and the new ports with the hinterland.

Some view that the proposed port would have adverse effect on Paradip Port. People connected with Paradip are aware of the littoral drift of sand along the coast from south to north; the gradual accretion of land south of the southern breakwater of Paradip Port and erosion of land north of the northern breakwater. To contain the erosion, a seawall has been constructed north of the northern breakwater that runs up to the point of confluence of the Mahanadi with the sea. The northern breakwater of the proposed port is sometimes perceived as a feature, which could induce similar erosion of land towards Paradip. This apprehension however is unfounded, as this problem would surely be tackled through suitable engineering measures. The embankment form is expected to have in the middle portion quarry-run materials like boulders of different sizes; the seaside of the embankment is likely to be protected with acropodes and the landside with a concrete surface. The embankment is likely to be 7.5 metres high from the mean sea level and there is to be a wide road on top of it. The northern portion of the north breakwater of the new port is to be more effectively protected through better engineering measures. The southern breakwater of the port would arrest good quantity of north-moving sand and this would in fact help Paradip Port where the annual dredging would be less.

The other area of concern relates to the possible adverse impact on the business of Paradip Port. The cargo for the new port, it is pointed out, could be easily handled by Paradip Port. Actually, there is greater advantage in having two ports. The new port is expected to handle ultimately around 40 MT of cargo, but the development of the port has to go in tandem with the development of the steel plant. A port captive to the mother industry alone would be in a position to develop in conjunction with the development of the mother industry whereas such coordination may not always be possible if the port is a public port. A public port is meant to meet the requirement of many users in the hinterland.

Landlocked States in the hinterland of Paradip Port, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, are poised for rapid industrial development and their industries along with those in Odisha would depend on Paradip Port. Paradip Port would not be in a position to handle an additional cargo of around 40 MT of Posco plant. It is therefore only appropriate that the existing and future capacity of Paradip Port is taken advantage of by a large number of users and the Posco cargo handled by a captive port.

The new port should not therefore cause any concern; it is only a logical and welcome part of Posco-India’s project that is surely going to bring in an integrated development of the hinterland.

— The writer, a former IAS officer, can be reached at punarbashu@gmail.com

Tourism and Airport of International Standards in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bringing International Connectivity, Circuit: Bhubaneswar-Chilika-Puri, Khordha, Tourist promotion 12 Comments »

(Thanks to Purna Mohanty for the pointer.)

Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=66381.

Development and promotion of tourism is undertaken primarily by the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, extends financial assistance to the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations for tourism related projects which are identified in consultation with them, under various tourism schemes of the Ministry. In the year 2008-09 a mega circuit project named development of tourist circuit “Bhubaneswar-Puri-Chilka” in the State of Orissa was sanctioned for an amount of Rs. 30.23 crore.

The Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar has been taken up for development and upgradation to international standards, with a new terminal building with all modern facilities including two aerobridges and expansion of apron.

****

AD/DB

Following are some pictures of the planned new terminal for Bhubaneswar. One of them appears in the web page of http://auroraconsultingengineers.com/reference.html. Thanks to Devasis Sarangi, Rajeswar and others for the pictures.

Tourism is only one aspect of Bhubaneswar. The others include: capital city, metropolitan area of 1.9 million, educational and knowledge hub (e..g., 70+ engineering colleges) and surrounded by emerging industrial and business centers (Berahmpur, Angul, Kalinganagar, Paradeep) and existing and emerging ports (Paradeep, Dhamara, Gopalpur and many new ones in pipeline).

Rajsunakhala people unhappy that its station in the Khurda Balangir line has been eliminated: Pragativadi

Khurda Rd - Balangir (under constr.), Nayagarha Comments Off on Rajsunakhala people unhappy that its station in the Khurda Balangir line has been eliminated: Pragativadi

(Thanks to Saumya Mohapatra for the pointer.)

However the 2010 map at http://203.176.113.182/ECOR/website/home.jsp still shows Rajsunakhala station as part of the Khurda-Balangir line.The article below also mentions that land acquisition is over in most places.

Durga Puja in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar: From Dharitri

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, Khordha, THINGS ODISHA N ODIA Comments Off on Durga Puja in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar: From Dharitri

Update on the bio-tech park near Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, BioTech, Pharma, Business Standard, Central grants, Khordha 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a Business Standard report in sify.com.

Construction work on the Rs 100-crore Konark Knowledge Park, a biotech-pharma-IT hub, being developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited on around 65 acres of land at Andharua on the outskirts of the city, is set to take off by March 2011.

"The biotech park would have all statutory clearances within four months and construction work will begin soon after that", an official source told Business Standard.

… The land leveling for this project is already over and efforts are underway to provide piped water and power supply to the park.

The park is set to be completely operational within eight years of the commencement of construction work.The park would have a Biotechnology Incubation Centre spread over 10 acres. The incubation centre to be developed within the park would cater to the needs of the researchers, entrepreneurs and students.

The Centre would provide equipment called the biotech incubator worth Rs 25 crore for the incubation centre.The biotech industry in the country is growing at a very good pace and this incubation centre is set to emerge as a Centre of Excellence.

The Konark Kowledge Park is the first of its kind venture to be developed on the public private partnership (PPP) mode in the state in the field of science and technology.

… The Industrial Infrastructure Corporation of Orissa (Idco) has been appointed as the nodal agency for the development of this integrated park would provide all external infrastructure facilities like roads, water supply and electricity for this complex.

Bhubaneswar airport aircraft movement, passenger and freight numbers

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bringing International Connectivity, Khordha 1 Comment »

The following numbers are obtained (with some calculation) from http://www.aai.aero/traffic_news/traffic_news.jsp. (Thanks to Devasis Sarangi for the pointer.)

Bhubaneswar Airport (BBI) April 2006 – March 2007 April 2007 – March 2008 April 2008 – March 2009 April 2009- March 2010
 Aircraft movements
 7220  12270  9962  10708
 Passenger numbers
 351313  702199  671861  825853
 Freight (in Tonnes)
 1018  1258  1287  1998

The numbers in the last column are not directly in any file in the above site, but were calculated using data in multiple files. No assumptions were made.

The following pages give comparative numbers of domestic passenger traffic in Bhubaneswar airport with respect to other airports in India. Note that the decline from 2007-08 to 2008-09 was across the board. However,  the decline of 4.3% with respect to Bhubaneswar airport during that time was much less than the national decline of 11.2% for the same period.

With respect to the above data the domestic passenger traffic in Bhubaneswar is close to the domestic traffic in the international airport of Lucknow and is more than the domestic traffic in the international airports of Trivandrum, Calicut, Amritsar, Port Blair and Nagpur; It is more than the domestic traffic in the custom airports of Mangalore, Trichy, Bagdogra, Varanasi, Patna and Gaya and all other domestic airports that include Indore, Vizag, Vadodara, Jammu, Raipur, Chandigarh, etc.

First phase of the Bhubaneswar City bus to start on October 10 2010: Ad in Samaja

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, Cuttack, Khordha 4 Comments »

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approves remaining 600 Kms of State roads in Odisha that are part of the Ranchi-Vijaywada highway

Angul, Bouda, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamala, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Vijaywada-Ranchi highway Comments Off on Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approves remaining 600 Kms of State roads in Odisha that are part of the Ranchi-Vijaywada highway

Following is from a PIB release dated 5th October 2010.

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure

05-October-2010 19:48 IST

Upgradation of road from Vijayawada to Ranchi approved

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) today approved improvement of balance 600 Km. of State roads in Orissa with a view to develop, in a phased manner, the entire 1632 Km. long Left Wing extremism affected Vijayawada-Ranchi corridor at an estimated cost of Rs.1200 crore. The project will be completed in next three years by March, 2014.

The project will also provide a good communication network between the tribal districts of Orissa and other developed areas in the State as well as to the neighbouring States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The project will cover Malkangiri, Jaypore, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhmal, Boudh, Sambalpur, Angul, Deogarh, Koenjhar and Mayurbhanj districts in Orissa.

BACKGROUND:

In view of growing activities of Left Wing Extremists in various States, the stretch between Vijayawada-Ranchi Route was considered for development as an integrated project by Central and State Governments. In Sept., 2009, the Government took decision to sanction remaining stretches of National Highways on Vijayawada Ranchi route in Orissa for widening to two-lane standards and undertaking preparation of Detail Project Reports (DPRs) for 600 Km. length of State Roads, which are not covered under any other programme.

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AKT/SH/SM

Location for Tata power in Naraj is more apt for a Knowledge Park

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, CENTER & ODISHA, Cuttack, ENVIRONMENT, HRD-n-EDUCATION (details at orissalinks.com), IT, New Indian Express, Indian Express, Financial express, Tatas, Thermal 2 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Expressbuzz.com.

The wildlife wing of the Forest department has raised concerns over the setting up of 1,000 mw thermal power plant proposed by Tata Power Company at Naraj.

Its proximity to critical sites, impact of pollution on them as well as on the wildlife are issues the wildlife wing is worried about. The ` 4,900 cr coal-based power project is proposed at Naraj Marthapur, about 12 km from Cuttack and 20 km from Bhubaneswar.

“The Centre had referred the project site matter to me. Subsequently, I inspected the proposed power plant site and submitted a report in which I have indicated certain concerns relating to environment and wildlife,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) P N Padhi said on Monday.

One of the major issues is its location. According to Padhi’s report, the power plant is proposed amidst six critical sites.

It has Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on both sides and it is located between two major rivers __ Mahanadi and Kathjodi.

Besides, it is flanked by two wildlife habitats __ Chandaka- Dampara wildlife sanctuary on the one hand and Nandankanan Zoological Park and Zoo, also a notified sanctuary, on the other.

“With two protected areas (PAs) on its sides, a thermal power plant may have adverse impact on wildlife,” Padhi said. Chandaka, for one, is an elephant sanctuary and has witnessed growing man-animal conflict over the past 10 years.

Besides, the jumbos are known to stray out of their habitats more frequently in the last few years.

Similarly, apprehension of pollution is a major concern …

The power project, which is located in Cuttack Sadar tehsil, needs about 990 acres. It is well close to a road that connects Khurda, Chandaka, Barang and Gobindpur. …

That location (close to Sri Sri University) is apt for a knowledge park. Since the Tatas have already worked hard on the land acquisition Odisha government should tell them that instead of a power plant they should create a Knowledge Park there. It could include a large operation of TCS, a TCS training center like the Infosys center in Mysore, space and infrastructure for multiple universities, medical colleges, etc.

There the total land area is about 990 acres. Currently such an amount of contiguous land is not available so close to Bhubaneswar where one can build IT parks and knowledge parks.

So the Odisha government should consider giving the Tatas some other land for their power plant and use that land for a knowledge park, possibly even built by the Tatas.


Guru Gangadhar Pradhan and Konark Natya Mandap

Odia music, Odisha artists, Odisha Culture, Odisha dances, Odisha personalities, Puri Comments Off on Guru Gangadhar Pradhan and Konark Natya Mandap

Following is an excerpt from an article in Deccan Herald.

“My mother-in-law and social worker Sushilavati Swain asked me to start some cultural activity in Konark, so we acquired a piece of land in 1978. Two years later, we built a mud hut and called it the Konark Nata Mandap. Every Sunday we had a meeting and artistes from the nearby areas would come and spend the entire day singing, dancing and playing various musical instruments,” Gangadhar Pradhan says. This created an ambience of culture. The mandap’s activity started in 1980 as a small get-together but soon there was no looking back as it paved the way for the five-day international Konark Dance and Music Festival, that is held every year in this small town of Orissa.

Besides, the Konark Nata Mandap was re-christened Konark Natya Mandap (KNM). It has undergone several changes over the years. And, it has finally taken the shape of the replica of the world famous Sun Temple.

“The festival started in 1986 on the day of Shivaratri. But the seeds of the festival were sown in my mind when I had gone to the Swedish embassy and saw posters of the Khajuraho Festival there. That’s how the idea of the Konark Dance and Music Festival took shape in my mind,” remarks Pradhan.

In the true sense, it was the harbinger of the contemporary festivals of Odisha. “The main objective of the festival is not merely to provide entertainment but to educate and refine. It aims to harmoniously blend the classical, spiritual, tribal and folk aspects of the glorious cultural traditions.”

Built through the painstaking efforts of Gangadhar Pradhan, KNM now is a performer’s delight. A replica of the natyashala of the scintillating and stupendous Sun Temple of Konark, it provides the right kind of ambience for artistes, connoisseurs and art lovers from India and abroad.

The KNM serves as a temple of learning. Following the glorious traditions of Guru Kula Parampara, it provides teaching and training in dance, music, yoga and theatre. Classes on Odissi dance, Gotipua dance, mardal, tabla and Odissi music are being conducted on its premises. Experienced gurus and teachers share their experience with students who get the privilege of presenting their skill on the three stages erected on the premises.

That apart, KNM is functioning as an institution of cultural consultancy in the state for the growth and propagation of Odissi, tradition and classical art forms both at national and international levels. The mandap has shouldered a big responsibility of popularising Odissi dance and the sculptural epic Konark has metamorphosed into a living Konark.

Talking about his dream, Gangadhar Pradhan says that something should be happening in KNM throughout the year. “Now there is a festival happening 220 days in a year.” He is confident of achieving his goal by the middle of this decade.

Explaining about Living Konark, he said that people had seen Konark in stone, now they would see the living Konark and the dancing Konark. Once, this dream materialised, there would be a computerised film on Konark that would be screened.

“When I had given wings to my imagination, I had dreamt of the future 1000 years’ history which takes into account the cultural, spiritual and ritualistic aspects. The triangle of Konark-Puri-Bhubaneswar-Chilka will develop tourism as well as culture. What the tourist sees in one place will not be repeated in other places, so he or she will get to see something new each time,” he added.

Odisha Single Window Clearance Committee approves new investment of 6500 crores

Angul, Balasore, Bhadrakh, Cement, Chemicals, Food processing, INVESTMENTS and INVESTMENT PLANS, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar, Khordha, Manufacturing, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarha, Paper and newsprint, Sambalpur, Single Window Clearance (SLSWCA), Steel, Sundergarh 4 Comments »

Following is from a report in Hindu Businessline.

… Orissa government on Friday approved fresh investment of Rs 6,500 crore …

The investment proposals were approved by the Single Window Clearance Committee (SLWCC) meeting chaired by the chief secretary Mr B K Patnaik here.

“The 16 projects approved today will give direct employment to 15,000 people and provide indirect employment for another 25,000 persons,” Industries secretary Mr Sourav Garg told reporters adding that projects worth less than Rs 1,000 crore got clearance from the SLWCC.

Stating that the projects were in cement (4 units), food processing (one unit), manufacturing (one unit), power (one unit), paper (one unit) and steel (five units) sectors …

The name of the companies and additional details are given in this report from Samaja.

New investments and investment projects under implementation

Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Balasore, Balasore- Chandipur, Bhadrakh, Bouda, Business Standard, Cement, Coal to diesel, Cuttack, Dhamara- Chandbali- Bhitarakanika, Gasification (from Coal), Investment ranking, Jajpur, Jharsugurha, Keonjhar, Ore pelletisation, Sonepur, Sundergarh 2 Comments »

Following is from a Business Standard report in sify.com.

Orissa has continued its growth momentum as a favourite destination for investors attracting investments worth Rs 98,929.49 crore in the April-June period of this fiscal. The most of these new investment proposals are in sectors like power, steel, cement, food processing and downstream industries.

The single largest investment proposal of Rs 45,000 crore has come from Strategic Energy Technology Systems Pvt Ltd for a coal to liquid project at Angul on May 12, 2010.

The bulk of the investments- Rs 33,569.25 crore has been proposed in the power sector with proposals for setting up of Independent Power Plants (IPPs) with a cumulative capacity of 7740 MW.

Ferro Alloys Corporation (FACOR) Power Limited has proposed to set up a 270 MW (2×135) coal-based thermal power plant at Haridaspur in Jajpur district. Similarly, KU Projects intends to set up a 1320 MW (2×660) power plant at Thakurpur in Sonepur district at an investment of Rs 7260 crore. This project has been cleared by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) of the state government.

Similarly, Shivani Thermal Power Station of Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) has proposed to set up a 1320 MW (2×660) power plant at Chhotapadagan in Cuttack district at a cost of Rs 7554.54 crore.

Visa Power has submitted a revised proposal to the state government owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Ipicol) to set up a 1320 MW (2×660) power plant at Brahmanabasta in Cuttack district, entailing an investment of Rs 6319.48 crore.

Shri Anant Infra Energy Pvt Limited has evinced interest to set up a 210 MW coal-based power plant at Garjan Bahal in Sundergarh district.

Responsive Industries Ltd has proposed to set up a 1320 MW (2×660) power plant at Manmunda in Boud district at a cost of Rs 6487.50 crore.

CLP Power India Pvt Ltd plans to set up a 1980 (3×660) MW power plant at Majhapada in Sundergarh district at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore.

Among the investment proposals in the cement sector, Kolkata-based Icore Super cement Ltd has proposed to set up a cement plant at Somnathpur in Balasore district at an investment of Rs 151 crore.

While Ramco Industries Limited has evinced interest to set up a 120,000 tonnes per annum asbestos fibre cement sheet plant at Jharsuguda at a cost of Rs 35 crore, Madras Cement intends to set up a 4000 tonne per day cement plant at Nandibera in Malkangiri district at a cost of Rs 750 crore.

Reliance Cementation Ltd has submitted proposal for a 2.8 million tonne per annum cement plant at Jallangbara in Sundergarh district at a cost of Rs 970 crore.

Similarly, Binani Cement plans to set up a one million tonne per annum clinker grinding unit at Dhamara in Bhadrak district at a cost of Rs 130 crore.

In the steel sector, Rashmi Metalliks Limited has proposed to set up a three million tonne per annum pelletisation plant and 44 m captive power plant at Baliarpur in Bhadrak district at an investment of Rs 3465 crore.

The Orissa Minerals Development Company Limited has evinced interest for a two million tonne per annum beneficiation and pelletisation plant at Dalki in Keonjhar district at a cost of Rs 889 .

Following is excerpted from a report in indiainfoline.com.

The statewise breakup of investment under implementation as on June ’10 (Rs. Crores) has been Maharashtra (666065), Orissa (498190), Gujarat (487361), Andhra Pradesh (478612), Tamil Nadu (334960), UP (326356), Haryana (318488), West Bengal (288109), Karnataka (279033), Jharkhand (173008), Chhattisgarh (167557), Madhya Pradesh (165848), Kerala (126223), Punjab (115683), Rajasthan (84955), Bihar (59339), Jammu & Kashmir (44339), Himachal Pradesh (43928), Uttrakhand (38869), Assam (36124).

… The capital goods industry’s performance is mainly on account of spurt in investment activity in Haryana, UP, Kerela, Orissa and Uttarakhand in the first quarter of 2009-10.

… The rate of implementation (% share in total live investments) as per June 2010 in prominent states, has been the most in Haryana (81.5) followed by UP (70.6), Assam (65.9), Maharashtra (61.7), Punjab (60), Andhra Pradesh (58.5), Himachal Pradesh (56), Jammu & Kashmir (53.1), Kerala (51.9), Bihar (50.5), West Bengal (49.4), Tamil Nadu (47.7), Orissa (44.3), Chhattisgarh (40.6), Madhya Pradesh (40.2), whereas states like Uttrakhand (39.1), Gujarat (38.9), Rajasthan (34.7), Karnataka (32.7) and Jharkhand (28.2) are lagging behind in this aspect.

Camping on the riverbed in Satkosia: a Telegraph travel report

Angul, Ecotourism, Nature spots, River Cruise, Satkosia gorge and tiger reserve, Tourist promotion, Wild life 1 Comment »

The full article by Bibhuti Barik is at http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100920/jsp/orissa/story_12957764.jsp. Following is the graphic from that article.

Progress on Subarnarekha port (earlier referred to as port at Kirtania)

Balasore, Choumukha-Kirtania, Balasore (Creative ports, Chennai interested) 3 Comments »

Following are reports from Samaja and Dharitri. It says land has been selected in the Choumukh panchayat. The port, which was earlier referred to as Kirtania port, is now referred to as Subarnarekha port. The Samaja article mentions that for the port connectivity there will be a two lane road and rail lines between Haldipada and Choumukh. The Daharitri article mentions the rail points as Rupsa and Jaleswar. Both articles say that if things go as planned the port should be operational by 2014. This port is being made by Creative Ports of Chennai.

Odisha plans to revive the lower Suktel project

Balangir, Dam project, Drinking water projects, Sonepur 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a report in orissadiary.com.

The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has reviewed the progress of lower Suktel Irrigation Project in the Orissa Secretariat on Saturday , which is under construction in Balangir and Sonepur district. The Chief Minister instructed the departmental officers to speed up the construction work of the project.

As per the information in the meeting, about Rs 1041.81 crores will be expended for the project and more than 31,830 cultivable land of Balangir and Sonepur district will be irrigated by the project. Out of which 29,850 Hector of Balangir district and 1980 Hector of Sonepur district. The phase II (stage II ) forest permission has been sanctioned . The land acquisition work for the project is going on. It has been decided to complete the land acquisition work by the month of October. Two officers will be engaged for the purpose.

The following PTI report from ibnlive gives addition information on this.

The project having potential of irrigating about 31,830 hectare of land in Balangir (29,850 hectare) and Sonepur (1980 hectare) districts, would have 1230 square km of catchment area. Earthen dam of 1410 meter was required to be built for the project.Of the total 29 villages to be affected, 16 villages to be fully submerged due to the dam prorject. Other 13 villages would be partially affected, they said adding that the state government had decided to rehabilitate the people according to the norms of the state government’s Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy-2006.To rehabilitate 1266 families belonging to four villages, rehabilitation colony was being developed while the government had identified two other places to settle others, they said. In Bolangir-Sonepur districts, irrigation potential is only three per cent which is lowest in the world, official sources said adding that there was no major irrigation project in Balangir.As Balangir receives scanty rainfall, the district faces acute drinking water problem besides water to the agricultural land.

Status of Essar Steel projects in Odisha

Iron Ore, Jagatsinghpur, Ore pelletisation, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Ruias/Essar group, Steel Comments Off on Status of Essar Steel projects in Odisha

Following is from a report in Orissadiary.

The 6-million tonne Essar Steel pellet plant here will be made operational by October this year. The `2,200-crore project includes an 8-MT ore beneficiation plant at Joda and Barbil and a 250-km slurry pipeline from Joda to Paradip. The company plans to expand the beneficiation and pellet manufacturing capacities to 12 MT in the future.

Initially, the company will source iron ore from private mines at Joda and Barbil. However, the company expects that the State and Central Governments will grant it lease for a captive mine in the long run.

The pellets to be produced at Paradip would be exported through the Paradip Port to Essar’s steelmaking unit at Hazira in Gujarat, which is undergoing a capacity expansion to 9.6 MT from 4.6 MT by 2012, said sources.

Following is excerpts from an interview in Business Standard. The investment numbers mentioned there does not quite gel with the numbers mentioned above.

Is there a time frame for realising the long-term vision?

It arises from the commitments, as well as MoUs (memorandums of understanding) with various state govts. These are linked to raw material. It’s a chicken and egg story. You need the raw material, otherwise you are not going to invest. We have our plans in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh. In Orissa, we are already completing the first phase. In Karnataka, we have signed the MoU and the government is looking to provide land. But we also want the mines. We don’t want to create a situation where all the investments are done and then you say the mines are not available.

The Orissa government has a clause in the MoU that the state will recommend mines once you have made commitments for 25-30 per cent.

Yes, commitments have to be made, which implies it could be orders. But a 12-million tonne plant will cost anything between $12 billion and $15 billion. Thirty per cent of that will be $4.5 bn. How can anyone expend $4.5 bn in the hope that one will get the mines? It’s easier for smaller players.

Odisha plans for a state-specific SEZ policy

Aluminum ancilaries, Anil Agarwal, Birlas, Cuttack, Ganjam, IDCO, IT, IT, Back office, BPO, Jajpur, Jharsugurha, Jindal, Khordha, Sambalpur, SEZs, Steel ancilaries, Vedanta Comments Off on Odisha plans for a state-specific SEZ policy

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Under the proposed SEZ Policy, the state government shall not encourage SEZs based on mining and minerals like iron ore, chrome ore and bauxite. However, SEZs based on the use of intermediate products like alumina for smelting, primary metals for further processing on the value chain and rare minerals like tin, limenite, nickel, platinum and vanadium will be allowed.

Moreover, the state shall not encourage SEZs based on activities like mining that cause pollution. The Orissa State Pollution Control Board shall prepare a list of such industries and the same would be notified by the state government as a negative list.

The mineral based SEZs already approved shall undertake to develop and promote related downstream industrial complexes over a minimum area as prescribed by the Government of India. In the event of non-compliance of this condition, all state concessions shall be withdrawn.

The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) shall be the competent authority to screen and recommend SEZ proposals irrespective of the magnitude of investment.

All recommendations of SLSWCA would be placed before the High Level Clearance Authority for approval before making any recommendation to the Government of India.

The state government owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Limited (Ipicol) would function as the state level nodal agency for receipt, scrutiny and placement of the applications before the SLSWCA.

For sector specific projects, the respective nodal agencies like the Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC), Industrial Infrastructure Corporation of Orissa Limited (Idco) and Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Limited (Apicol) will receive and scrutinize the applications.

As per the SEZ Policy of the state, the import of goods and services made to SEZ units located within the processing zone from the Domestic Tariff Area shall be exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT), entry tax, electricity duty and other cess payable on sales and transactions.

The SEZ Policy of the state has not envisaged any special provisions for backward districts like Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput and tribal dominated areas.

Till now, four SEZs have been notified in the state– the sector specific IT/ITes SEZ at Chandaka Industrial Estate in Bhubaneswar developed by Idco, sector specific SEZ for stainless steel and ancillary downstream industries at the Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex being developed by JSL, aluminium and aluminium products SEZ at Lapanga near Sambalpur being developed by Hindalco Industries and another aluminium SEZ with Captive Power Plant being developed by Vedanta Aluminium Limited at Jharsuguda.

Some of the other Orissa related SEZs plans and approvals that are not mentioned in the above article are (see also http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/1305):

Investment pouring in to Paradip: Nageshwar Patnaik in Economic Times

Jagatsinghpur, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, PCPIR, Petrochemicals, Steel Comments Off on Investment pouring in to Paradip: Nageshwar Patnaik in Economic Times

Following are extracted from his article in Economic Times.

  • The port town in Jagatsinghpur district, about 120 km from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, has already emerged as one of the country’s major investment hotspots by attracting investment in excess of Rs 3.5 lakh crore including the Rs 2, 74,134 crore Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) and the biggest FDI proposal by Posco to build a 12-million ton steel plant at an estimated cost of Rs 51, 000 crore.
  • The port town already boasts of major fertilizer manufacturers like IFFCO and Paradeep Phosphates Limited, a brewery along with central depot of Indian Oil and other small industries like Kargil Oil, Paradeep Carbon and a host of other units.
  • … an integrated Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) promoted by the state government on the lines of Pudong in China, Rotterdam in Europe and Houston in North America.
  • IOC is already coming up with 15 MMTPA grassroot refinery cum petrochemical complex five kilometer to the south of Paradeep Port at an estimated cost of Rs 25,646. For this, the state government has given incentives to IOC by exempting entry tax on crude oil and sales tax deferment for 11 years. The IOC already has got the required 3344 acres of land.
  • The Railways is also committed to boost connectivity in the Paradeep region which includes the 82-km Paradeep-Haridaspur broad gauge line, being taken up at an investment of Rs 577.78 crore. East Coast Railway (ECoR) has acquired 1,146 acres of private land out of the total of 1,653 acres of land required for the project. This project being implemented by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is scheduled for completion by March 2011.
  • The other projects in different stages of implementation Hydrate Pellets Ltd’s six lakh tone hydrate pelts plant at Rs 10,724 crore, Essar Steel Orissa Ltd’s six million ton steel plant at Rs 10,721 cr], Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (DFPCL’s three lakh mtpa green-field complex for Nitric Acid and Ammonium Nitrate at Paradeep at a cost of Rs 400 crore NSL Sugar Ltd’s sugar plant at Rs 800 crore and other mini projects.

One other thing that is not elaborated in the article is that as part of the PCPIR several things will be funded by the state government and several other things will be funded by the central government.The following is excerpted from an older article in Business Standard.

  • “The Centre would provide this money in two phases. While Rs388 crore would come in the first phase of the project, the balance Rs328 crore would be provided by the Government of India in the second phase”
  • … six-laning of NH-5 (A), building a greenfield coastal corridor, construction of all-new greenfield road from Bhubaneswar to Paradip and upgradation of port infrastructure.
  • The six-laning of the NH-5 (A) will be taken up in the second phase of the PCPIR project at a cost of Rs76 crore. The greenfield coastal corridor will involve an expenditure of Rs410 crore out of which Rs 264 will be invested in the first phase while the remaining expenditure of Rs146 crore will be incurred in Phase-II.

  • The construction of all-new greenfield road from Bhubaneswar to Paradip will be taken up at a cost of Rs190 crore while Rs40 crore would be provided by the Centre for upgradation of port infrastructure.

  • Meanwhile, the Orissa government has committed an expenditure of Rs1796 crore on infrastructure development for the PCPIR hub. Out of the envisaged expenditure of Rs1796 crore, Rs 754 crore will be spent on development of arterial roads, Rs 465 crore on water supply, Rs 410 crore on power distribution and Rs136 crore on canal upgradation.


To match these industrial investments in Paradip, the Odisha government needs to make plans for a university, an engineering college and a medical college for this area. Similar plans need to made for the other upcoming industrial hubs at Angul,  Kalinganagar, Jharsuguda and Rayagada; as well as the only existing industrial area of Rourkela which neither has a medical college nor has a regular university.

Peerless plans a 4 star hotel in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Hotels and resorts, Khordha Comments Off on Peerless plans a 4 star hotel in Bhubaneswar

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Peerless Hotels is looking for land to set up four-star facilities in Bhubaneswar, Noida and Navi Mumbai, according to a senior official of the company.

“Our negotiations with the Orissa government for the Bhubaneswar project are at an advanced stage, and if we get the land that we have chosen, the construction of the 80-room hotel will start in another one year,” Peerless Hotels chief executive officer Kunal Sen said.

… “The setting up of a four-star hotel with 80-100 rooms entails an investment of between Rs 75 crore and Rs 95 crore, including land cost that may be between Rs 15 crore and Rs 35 crore depending on location,” Sen said.

Paradip port trust plans an airstrip

Airports, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga Comments Off on Paradip port trust plans an airstrip

Following is an excerpt from a report in Steelguru.com.

Paradip Port Trust is planning to have an airstrip within the port premises to facilitate movement to and from the port.

A resolution in this regard was recently passed by the board of trustees of the port. Mr Biplav Kumar chairman of PPT told Business Line that "We’ve also received in-principle consent of the Shipping Ministry.”

… The land for the proposed airstrip, as the port Chairman informed, has been identified.

Since the PCPIR in Paradip has been approved, I expect this airstrip will be established soon.