Construction Mirror Article detail

UAE investors have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth US$2.76 billion (IRs218 billion/IRs21,800 crores) with the Government of Odisha state, after meeting with Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik in Dubai yesterday.

The investment by UAE business houses is a result of the government’s investment promotion drive aimed at creating awareness of Odisha’s key advantages – its natural and human resources as well as political stability that resulted in faster economic growth.

The announcement comes after the state approved more than 250 large-scale industrial and infrastructure project proposals collectively worth US$50 billion in sectors such as Metals and Metal downstream, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles, Food processing including Seafood processing, ESDM, Logistics and Clean Energy in the last two years.

The investment proposals include IRs1,500 crores investment by UAE-based multinational retail conglomerate, Lulu Group International which signed a MoU to explore investment opportunities in Odisha to set up Hypermarkets, shopping malls and agriculture and seafood sourcing and processing hubs in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela.

The Investors Meet was jointly organised with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Embassy of India in UAE. It was attended by more than 150 companies based out of the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from sectors comprising of minerals and metals processing, petrochemicals, chemicals, plastics, heavy industries, clean energy, food processing including sea food processing, electrical equipment and electronics manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, real estate, and hospitality.

Highlighting the state’s rich mineral resources, he said, Odisha holds the lion’s share of India’s mineral reserves with 96 percent of the country’s chromite reserves, 92 percent nickel, 53 percent bauxite, 45 percent manganese, 35 percent iron-ore, and 23 percent coal reserves of India. This has made Odisha the largest producer of Steel, Stainless Steel, Ferro Alloys, Alumina, and Aluminium in India.

Odisha also has 11 percent of India’s water resources. The state has a 480-km long coastline making it a natural choice for setting up ports, and for international trade.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister also announced that the State would be conducting the third edition of its flagship Global Investors Meet – “Make In Odisha 2022” during Nov 30-Dec 04, 2022 at the state capital Bhubaneswar, India. He extended the invitation to businesses in the MENA region to attend the Make In Odisha 2022 Investor Meet and witness the opportunities the State offers.

He also state that , “We have made good investments in setting up technical and professional institutes at all skill levels – ITIs, polytechnics, and engineering and management colleges. Eleven of India’s top 100 Industrial training institutes are in Odisha. With the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, the government of Odisha has recently established the World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar to prepare the Odia workforce for modern and new age industry.”

The Odisha Investors’ Meet was a platform for presenting the vast array of opportunities Odisha offers to businesses in the UAE and the MENA region. It has generated a huge interest among the business community as it is the first time that a state like Odisha which has received significant domestic investments has also reached out to UAE to attract FDI.