___________

Following is an excerpt from a report in Orissadiary.

217 Puri-Palasa passenger which is leaving Puri at 07.50a.m and arriving Palasa at 03.25p.m will leave Palasa at 04.30p.m and will arrive at Paralakhemundi at 06.45p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 218 Paralakhemundi-Puri Passenger will leave Paralakhemundi at 07.45a.m and will arrive at Puri at 09.05p.m.

This train will stop at Pundi, Rauthpuram, Naupada, Tekkali, Pedasana, Temburu, Ganguvada, and Pathapatnam between Palasa and Paralakhemundi. The timings of 217/218 Puri-Paralakhemundi-Puri passenger will remain unchanged between Puri & Palasa. The train will run as a special train on the flagging off day of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Puri w.e.f 19th December and from Paralakhemundi w.e.f 20th Dec’2010.

…

8447 Bhubaneswar-Koraput Hirakhand Express, which is leaving Bhubaneswar at 07.35p.m and arriving Koraput at 09.45a.m on the next day, will leave Koraput at 10.05a.m and will arrive at Jagadalpur at 12.40p.m in the extended portion. In the return direction, 8448 Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will leave Jagadalpur at 03.30p.m and will arrive at Bhubaneswar at 08.25a.m on the next day.

This train will stop at Jeypore and Jagadalpur in the extended portion. The timings of 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Jagadalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will remain unchanged between Bhubaneswar and Koraput. The train will run as a special train on the day of flagging off of the extended portion and the regular run will be from Bhubaneswar on 18th December and from Jagadalpur from 19th Dec’2010.

(We welcome reviews of this restaurant.)

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68211.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Government of Orissa to set up a Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in Paradeep. This is the fourth PCPIR which has been approved after PCPIRs in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal.

A total investment of about ` 277,734 crore is expected in the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (OPCPIR), which includes a committed investment of ` 29,777 crore. The proposal envisages development of physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, air links, ports, water supply, power etc. at a cost of ` 13,634 crore. The PCPIR policy prescribes that infrastructure will be created/upgraded through Public Private Partnerships to the extent possible and Central Government will provide the necessary Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Accordingly, Government of Orissa (GoO) has sought support from Government of India involving a commitment  of 716 crore on account of VGF funding for one port and three road-related projects.

The total employment generation from the OPCPIR is expected to be about 6.48 lakh persons comprising direct employment to 2.27 lakh persons.

The PCPIR policy is a window to ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to the development of global scale industrial clusters in the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner. The idea is to ensure the setting up of industrial estates in a planned manner with a view to achieve synergies and for value added manufacturing, research and development.

The Government of Orissa proposes to set up a PCPIR at Paradeep extending over parts of Kujang and Ersama blocks of Jagatsinghpur district and Mahakalpada and Marsaghai blocks of Kendrapara district.

The State Government proposes to implement the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (OPCPIR) under the Orissa Development Authorities Act, 1982, which is an existing State law. The State Government proposes to constitute the Greater Orissa Paradeep Development Authority as the authority in charge of the development of the Paradeep PCPIR.

The delineated region has a strong industrial base with major processing activities at present including Paradeep Phosphates Ltd., IFFCO’s Fertiliser Plant, Essar Steel Plant, Goa Carbons (Paradeep Carbons Ltd), Paradeep Port etc.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has been identified as the Anchor Tenant for the Orissa PCPIR. IOCL signed a MoU with GoO in 2004 for setting up a 15 MMTPA grassroot refinery at Paradeep in the first phase at a cost of ` 29,777 crore. The Refinery is likely to be commissioned by March 2012 and should be fully stabilized by November 2012. The Refinery will have a Crude and vacuum Distillation Unit, a Hydrocracking Unit, a Delayed Coker Unit and other secondary processing facilities. It will also have an Integrated Gassification Combined Cycle Plant for production of steam, power and hydrogen from petroleum coke for captive use in the refinery at the cost of about ` 935 crores. A petrochemical complex will be set up at a later date depending on the market conditions.

A Preliminary Environment Assessment Report (EIA) has been conducted. The State Government will carry out a detailed EIA as per the EIA notification.

****

VBA/SH/LV

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to undertake 14 projects on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode involving an expenditure of Rs 6,218.02 crore.

A total of 46 projects, to be taken up on the PPP mode, are under the consideration of the state government, A U Singhdeo, minister for Planning & Coordination said in the state assembly.

… The Infocity-II project, one of the major PPP projects, being planned over 600 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city, has gathered some steam after being marred by inordinate delay.

As part of its commitment to expedite this project, the state government has set in motion the process to prepare Request for Qualification (RFQ) for this project.

"An empowered committee of the state industries department has been asked to oversee the bidding process of the Infocity-II project. The RFQ is currently being prepared. The land acquisition for the project has been already completed and environment clearance has been obtained. The state government has also submitted an application to the Government of India for Special Economic zone (SEZ) notification for the project,” the minister said.

The other notable projects in the information technology sector taken up on the PPP mode are Mindspace IT Park involving a cost of Rs 480 crore, the DLF Infopark project entailing an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore and an IT & Corporate Tower being taken up at Chandrasekharpur at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

In the tourism sector, the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) has approved the revised Request for Proposal (RFP) for selecting the master developer for the Shmauka beach tourism project being taken up at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore on around 3,000 acres of land at Sipasarubali near Puri.

In the road transport sector, the High Level Clearance Authority of the state government has approved a proposal to seek Viability Gap Fund (VGF) assistance for the four-laning of the Sambalpur-Rourkela road involving a cost of Rs 1,483 crore.

For the Koira-Tensa-Lahunipara road in Keonjhar district, involving an implementation cost of Rs 392.2 crore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has submitted a draft preliminary report. This project needs 38 per cent VGF as per the toll rates of National Highways Authority of India Ltd (NHAI).

Meanwhile, feasibility study is underway for three other road projects- Shaukati-Dubuna road in Keonjhar district, Tensa-Barsuan-Lahunipara road in Sundergarh district and Chorada-Duburi road in Dhenkanal  Jajpur.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The on-going developmental work at the Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar, which aims to upgrade the airport as an International airport, is likely to be completed by November, 2011.

The expansion work, being implemented by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), envisages construction of new domestic terminal building complex with all modern amenities, which includes two aerobridges at a cost of Rs 145.54 crore.

On completion of these works, the final capacity of the Bhubaneswar airport would be 970 domestic passengers and 348 international passengers during peak hours as per IMG norms, says Union minister of state for civil aviation, Praful Patel.

Funds earmarked for construction of new terminal building and extension of apron was Rs 160.45 crore. Out of this, Rs 24.59 crore has been spent by September, this year, Patel said in response to a query from Rajya Sabha MP, Renubala Pradhan.

The average number of passengers handled by the Bhubaneswar airport daily varies from 2500 to 3150. The average daily passengers handled by the airport was 2637 in April, 2506 in May, 3150 in June, 2657 in July, 2848 in August and 2517 in September this year.

Patel said, the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) operates daily flights in Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi and Mumbai-Raipur-Bhubanswar-Mumabi sectors and five flights per week in Chennai-Bhubaneswar-Chennai sector.

Similarly, the Jet Airways operates daily flights in Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector, while Kingfisher Airlines operates Mumbai-Bhubaneswar-Mumbai and Bangalore-Bhubaneswar-Bangalore and Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector (twice daily) flights.

Indigo operates Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi (twice daily) and Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad flights.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The traffic woes of the people commuting between Rasulgarh and Samantarapur are likely to come to an end with the construction of the proposed 11km bypass road from Bhuasuni temple to Daya bridge.

Part of the 67.25km NH-203 project, the bypass road will not only provide better and faster communication facilities to the people of 11 villages from Pandra to the Daya bridge near Lingipur, but also help commuters between Cuttack and Puri avoid the congested capital. The project will be undertaken by the Bhubaneswar Expressway Pvt. Ltd, for which tenders have been finalised.

Project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Aditya Kumar Ray said the bypass road has been proposed specifically to address the traffic problem on the stretch from Rasulgarh and Samntarapur. …

… Ray said though the work is supposed to start from January 30, land acquisition problems were likely to cause some delay and ultimately the project may kick off in the first week of February.

… The project is likely to be over in two and a half years. To be executed in the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) mode, the road would be handed over to the NHAI by the operators after 29 years.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… the single-window clearance committee of the state government, cleared five proposals worth Rs 1,340 crore. Industries secretary T. Ramchandru said that Orissa-based Konark Kranti Energy would set up a petroleum complex at Paradip and a petroleum storage facility at Dhamra port. “The company will invest Rs 300 crore,” he said.

Britania Industries Limited would also set up a plant at Khurda with an investment of Rs 51 crore.

Around 700 people will be employed by the firm. Everest Industry would set up a corrugated asbestos plant at Somanthpur in Balasore with an investment of Rs 69 crore, Chariot Steel and Power would expand its cement plant at Sundergarh and invest Rs 320 crore while Nababharat Ventures Limited would set up a power plant with an investment of Rs 600 crore, he added.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

A private airline today submitted a proposal to the state government to start a daily air service between Rourkela and Calcutta. The company initially proposes to operate an 18-seater aircraft.

The company, which has done a preliminary survey, intends to use the airstrip of Rourkela steel plant but it has urged the government to provide another 64 acres to develop the airstrip. In the second phase, it plans to start anther flight from Rourkela to Bhubaneswar via Jharsuguda. The proposal is under consideration, said sources. Representatives of the airline met the chief secretary Bijay Patnaik and submitted their proposal today.

Read about how this ad happened in this Indian Express article.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

… Balasore, which has around 70 per cent of the State’s plastic units, would soon turn into a plastic industry hub with this training centre while a plastic park is also in the offing and the work under the Industrial Up-gradation Scheme is in progress. Jena informed that Balasore is very strategically located between two upcoming Petrochemical Investment Regions at Nayachar, Haldia, and Paradip. There is potential for Balasore to be the hub of Plastics Industrial Corridor stretching on the East Coast of India.

Establishment of the APPTC at Balasore would act as a catalyst to stimulate growth of plastic industries in general and plastics processing industries in particular, he said. He said cooperation between the Centre and State is required for development.

State’s Minister of Industries and Steel and Mines Raghunath Mohanty said the APPTC’s intake for this year would be 150 and 100, respectively, for skilled and short-term courses while the full-fledged intake would be 480. The APPTC is being established by the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) on an area of 8 acres of land allotted by the State Government at a cost of `15 crore, which is being shared equally by the Central and State Governments.

Union Secretary of Chemicals & Petrochemicals M Raman informed that a proposal of the State Government to set up a PCPIR at Paradip has been recommended by the high-powered committee and its final approval is expected shortly. The total employment generation from the OPCPIR is expected to be about 6,48,000 persons, comprising of direct employment to 2.27 lakh and indirect employment to 4.21 lakh.

Balasore should also try to take advantage of its proximity to IIT Kharagpur.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The largest integrated tourism project of the state — Samuka — is coming up on 3,000 acres of land on the sea beach near Puri. The project involves an investment of Rs 116.59 crore and is being implemented on public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

… The project had been visualised as a one-stop rejuvenation facility for “body and mind of tourists” and provide business opportunities to private investors while protecting the tourism interest of the state, official sources said.

The principal project components include star hotels, resorts, international convention centre, golf course, golf villas, cultural villages and craft bazaar.

Chief secretary Bijay Patnaik reviewed the progress of the proposed project at the state secretariat here today. At present, development plan has been prepared for 972 acres by the state tourism department and state-run Orissa Tourism Development Corporation, an official said.

“Protect natural beauty and environment while developing integrated tourism project along the sea shore. The project should aim at preservation and promotion of the state’s tourist potentials,” Patnaik told officials at the review meeting.

To take Samuka ahead, the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco) has already acquired 972 acres.

“Puri district collector has submitted proposal for further acquisition of 622 acres for a cost of Rs 4.81 crore. The government is examining the proposal. Tenders have been invited from hoteliers for construction of hotels and sea resorts. The committee has decided to invite and negotiate with interested investors and builders to give shape to the commercially viable components of the projects,” he added. The Idco has also constructed approach road to the proposed site for Rs 7.63 crore.

“The state energy department has been asked to supply power to the site for which Rs 37.56 crore will be spent.

“Water supply to the site will be provided for an investment of Rs 63.77 crore,” the official said.

It is good that the Chief Secretary has started reviewing the various large projects. I hope he does that regularly until the projects are completed.

• See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3488 for some design pictures of this project.
• See also http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=119124261452067 for additional details.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Mumbai Angels, an angel investment network, will invest in Kolkata-based milk packaging and distributing company Milk Mantra . The company, which is the latest in the agri sector to catch attention of investors, has already received early stage funding from Avishkar and an angel investor based in the UK.

“The company is planning to introduce fresh milk in cartons for the first time in India. It is a huge opportunity for a market like India where fresh milk is available only in plastic covers, which are not always hygienic.

… “Our aim is to offer direct to home service of fresh milk packed in a more hygienic manner. We have tied up with about 50,000 farmers in Orissa to procure milk. We expect to start business this year and in the initial phase it will be available in Kolkata and Bhubaneswar,” he said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The Indian Air force wants to develop the Charbatia base in Cuttack district into a full-fledged base station.

“I want to see an air base at Charbatia,” Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told reporters after visiting the base. Presently, Charbatia is an aerial reconnaissance post of the Aviation Research Centre.

Charbatia base, spread over 2000 acres, is now with the Union home ministry. The airstrip came up in the area in the 1960s.

Earlier, Air Marshal J.N. Burma had discussed the issue with chief minister Naveen Patnaik in January, 2010. The Air Marshal had also urged Naveen to recommend to the home ministry to hand over the land to air force.

“Unless the state recommends, the Centre cannot transfer land to the air force,” said an IAF official.

Sources in the state government said the IAF had already given a proposal to the Centre to this effect and wants to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the base.

Revenue divisional commissioner Pradipta Mohapatra said he had already directed the Cuttack district collector to arrange the land for the air base. “They require an additional 600 acres of land. Discussion on the matter is going on,” he said.

As per their 2010 placement brochure, NIT Rourkela has 675 acres and following some high court order would be expanding by adding another 400 acres. The following Samaja article talks about that expansion.

It is great that this discussion came up at the Chief Secretary level. With stability at that position for next several years pursuing a comprehensive development agenda for Rourkela with him could work well. Some of the issues that should be pursued with him include:

• Medical Colleges (ESIC, SAIL)
• University (a comprehensive metropolitan university with all branches)
• A national level sports or physical education institute or university (upgrade existing sports academies)
• Airport
• Raiway issues (world class station, Division HQ, Talcher-Bimlagarh line; more trains)
• Declaring greater Rourkela as a municipal corporation
• Public transport inside Rourkela
• Enticing IT/BPO industries to take advantage of the cosmopolitan demography to set shop there; Development of IT parks.
• Encouraging various companies in RKL to further contribute with respect to HRD (SAIL medical and Engineering College, etc.)

Please suggest more.

We discussed this earlier in greater length at http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3480. See also http://www.orissa2020.org/home/area-wise-plan.

With more and more BPUT operations moving to Rourkela (thanks to http://rourkelacity.com for the pointer) there could be some huge positives, but not one that people normally think as BPUT’s academic programs in Rourkela will not be better than the programs at NIT Rourkela. But there would be definitely more seats; so that would be good. But the biggest positives would be with respect to connectivity.

In particular, the connectivity between Rourkela and the rest of Odisha, especially the Bhubaneswar area, would improve. Currently not enough attention is being paid to that.

For example, the Talcher-Bimlagarh line will significantly shorten the distance between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The distance between them will become 308 kms: BBS-Talcher (114) + Talcher-Bimlagarh(154) + Bimlagarh-Rourkela(40). Currently the shortest distance is 419 kms. Once Talcher-Bimlagarh line is completed one could travel between BBS and ROU in about 5 hours. That would mean one could take a train from one place at 6 and reach the other at 11. Currently the BBS-ROU intercity takes 7hrs 30 minutes one way and 7hs 55 minutes the other way. On the other hand the BBS-SBP takes between 4:40 to 4:50 minutes in the two intercities (BBS-BLGR and SBP-Puri).

So lets hope that the inconvenience caused by having many BPUT operations from Rourkela will lead to people demanding speeding up of the completion of the Talcher-Bimlagarh line and perhaps even the start of shuttle flights between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

Another positive would be that more private colleges (not now but in few years when the demand picks up again) may come up close to Rourkela and the frequent travel by college heads to Rourkela could give them ideas to develop the travel corridor in many ways.

So although the convenience argument is often used by many (including me) to support some BPUT operations in Bhubaneswar, where most of the BPUT colleges are, perhaps for the greater and longer term good some inconvenience in the short term can be accepted.

Bringing Rourkela and Bhubaneswar closer (in travel time as well as in people’s mind) would be a big plus for Odisha.

Lets work on operationalizing Talcher-Bimlagarh line in 3-5 years!

Following is an excerpt from a report in mainichi.jp.

Toyota Tsusho Corp. will set up a refining plant in India for rare earth minerals used in hybrid car motors in a bid to diversify supply sources, company officials said Friday.

The Nagoya-based trading house will start building the plant in India’s eastern state of Orissa possibly by the end of this year.

The refinery is expected to go on line next autumn with an annual capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 tons of mineral ores, including neodymium, for export to Japan, they said.

… Rare earths consist of 17 elements such as neodymium, dysprosium and cerium, and are used in the production of high-tech products such as cellphones, digital cameras, flat-panel televisions and hybrid vehicles.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

India’s first low-cost hospital will be up and running in Mysore early next year.

These state-of-the art hospitals will be built at a cost of Rs 16 crore, about one-fifth the cost of constructing a 300-bed super-speciality hospital.

The brainchild of renowned cardio-surgeon Dr Devi Shetty, this unique hospital will be piloted in Mysore and then in Siliguri (West Bengal) and Bhubaneswar (Orissa). The Union health ministry has evinced interest in the project.

… Narayana Hrudayalaya has tied up with Larsen & Toubro to execute the Mysore project which uses pre-fabricated material transported from Puducherry. The general wards will receive daylight to the desired levels. Only the OT complex and pre/post operation and ICU areas will have a conventional concrete structure.

"Most hospitals today have huge vertical structures with heavy airconditioning. The best sanitiser for hospital is sunlight and fresh air. We don’t want patients to feel intimidated by the hospital. Besides having the best medical facilities, we’ll allow one family member to provide moral support to patients," Dr Shetty said.

In this chain of hospitals, heart surgeries will be performed for Rs 50,000 (compared to Rs 2 lakh or more depending on degree of complications) and other surgeries like gall bladder and hernia will cost between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000.

While hospitals in Mysore, Bhubaneshwar and Siliguri will come up on land given at subsidized rates by the respective state governments, other hospitals will come up on the public private partnership model. "We haven’t come up with a name yet of these hospitals," Dr Shetty said

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.

… the government has approved the creation of two new forward naval bases at Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) and Paradip (Orissa), and has accorded priority to the creation of operational infrastructure on the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

The decision was announced by Defence Minister A K Antony at the Naval Commanders’ Conference here on Wednesday.

The two new bases, which will have facilities to refuel and service naval vessels as well as stocking of ammunition, will be created over the next two years. The Navy will use them for operating smaller vessels. While a decision has not yet been taken to permanently deploy warships at the new bases, with several new vessels on order, the ports will be used for future operations of the expanded fleet.

Communication stations will also be set up at the two bases.

Update: Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

Source said, the centre may come up at Baliapal, nearly 30 km from Balasore, where government buildings built at the cost of Rs 4.5 crore during the late 80s are lying unutilised. Last year an experts’ team from CIPET had visited the spot and submited a report to the government. The infrastructure has been built on around 150 acres of land under the rehabilitation package during the proposed National Test Range (NTR) which was stalled in 1992 due to vehement opposition.

Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=66602.

Plastics have become the key drivers of innovation and application development. Plastics processing or product manufacturing industries is evincing increased competition worldwide due to globalization of the plastics trade. In the prevailing scenario of liberalization, an obvious preference goes to global supplier, who can deliver the qualitative products at any location within stipulated time frame across the globe. Due to globalization of trade and cost pressure, plastics industry in Indian context is looking forward to exploit the opportunities available in the export as well as domestic market. This would facilitate establishment of large-scale production facilities and processing plants to cater to the requirements of user industry.

Around 70% of the plastics industries of Orissa are situated in and around Balasore. It is also envisioned that during the end of XI Five Year Plan, around 100 more plastics processing industries are expected to be established. Establishment of Plastic Park and the upcoming Plastics Processing Industries in and around Balasore will boost the requirement of well trained technical manpower for the Plastics Industry. 

The raw materials availability for the plastic industries in Balasore can further be increased to ensure sustainable development as one petrochemical complex is coming up at Paradeep (to be developed by IOC). 

Balasore is also an industrially developed district, two sea ports are coming up near Dhamra and Chudamani. With the constant efforts of the local Member of Parliament and Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Srikant Kumar Jena, it has been decided to set up an Advanced Plastic Processing Technology Centre (APPTC) at Balasore to meet the increasing requirements of the trained technical manpower for the plastic industry. Establishing APPTC – a Unit of CIPET Bhubaneswar will not only result in fulfilling the requirement of additional skilled Technical Manpower in the area of Plastics Processing but also will facilitate in rendering the Technology Support Services. 

APPTC will fill up the demand & supply gap of skilled manpower of the processing industry in the Eastern region of the country by conducting long-term & short-term training programs in the areas of Plastics Processing Technologies. 

The Planning Commission has approved the establishment of APPTC in Balasore at a total project cost of Rs.1500 lacs. CIPET Corporate at Chennai would be the Apex Body directing and controlling the project activities as per the directives of Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Government of India. The State Government of Odisha has also agreed to share 50% of its cost and provide land for setting up of APPTC at Balasore. 

Benefits of Establishing the APPTC at Balasore: 

• During the first year of its establishment, the centre is expected to train & develop around 150 students in the field of plastic processing through long-term academic programmes and around 100 participants through short duration training programmes in the areas of plastic processing technology. 

• Once the APPTC become full-fledged, the total intake of the students for long term courses will be 480 for three long term courses. In addition, the APPTC will also train 250 technical personnel from plastic industry every year through short term technology upgradation programmes. 

• The APPTC centre at Balasore will also play a catalytic role in providing technology support services to the plastic & allied industries in around Balasore where a Plastic Park is being planned. Further, it is expected that more than 150 plastics processing / allied industries are likely to be started. This will boost the skilled manpower requirement in the area of plastics processing. In addition, as Balasore is well connected with other parts of the State and also the neighbouring States, the industries located at these places will also utilize the services of Balasore Plastics Park. 

The dream of establishing a dedicated specialized centre on “Advanced Plastic Processing Technology Centre – (APPTC)” at Balasore, Orissa – a unit of CIPET, Bhubaneswar at Balasore has become a reality mainly on account of constant persuasion and sustained efforts made by Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers. 

DNM/PKM

This is good. But the publicity is somewhat disproportional with respect to only a 15 crore project out of which the state is responsible for 50%. Other central ministers get much more for their states. Some recent examples are:

• Mamata Banerjee’s gifts to W. Bengal with respect to Railways and metro.

• W. Bengal minister’s support to get approval of 500+ crores for converting BESU to IIEST.
• Recent attempts by Pranab Mukherjee to get 500 crores for IIT Kharagpur expansion.