Pradhan Seeks Industrial Corridor For Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday requested Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to set up an industrial corridor in Odisha to create state-of-the-art infrastructure in the state to help realise its economic potential.

“Given the rich mineral resources and huge availability of manpower in Odisha, such an Industrial Corridor project in Odisha is highly necessary to create state-of-the-art infrastructure in the state to help realise its economic potential,” said Pradhan in a letter to the Industry Minister.

Notably, Government of India has conceived the development of various Industrial Corridor projects for promoting manufacturing and industrial development in the country.

“It is requested that the Industrial Corridor in Odisha be taken up simultaneously along with the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) which is envisaged to be developed in the first phase of the East Coast Economic Corridor (linking Kolkata – Chennai – Tuticorin,” said Pradhan.

“Odisha has a well-developed network of National Highways. Further, in the Railway Budget of 2016-2017, two dedicated freight corridors have been announced which would be passing through Odisha. The planning of the Industrial Corridor can be synchronised with the existing and upcoming infrastructure,” he added.

He said planning and implementation of the Industrial Corridor in Odisha must begin in right earnest.