New Delhi Sep 12 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday invited businesses from across the country to invest in the state.
Speaking at an investors meet in New Delhi ahead of the "Make in Odisha Conclave 2018" to be held in November he said the Odisha government has taken various measures to improve infrastructure in the state over the last 18 years creating opportunities for business growth.
He said the port capacity of the state has increased from 20.5 million tonne to 190 million tonne power generation increased three-fold to 17 690 megawatt and the road network has increased by over 50 per cent.
"Our natural strength lies in being a mineral-rich state. During the last 18 years we have focused on enhancing production levels of key minerals. Odisha is the aluminium capital of South Asia accounting for over 54 per cent of the country s production " he said.
"In the last nine months we have successfully started work on 50 projects with more than Rs 17 000 crore investments. This has the potential to provide employment opportunities for around 21 000 people in the state " said the Chief Minister.
Organised in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) business leaders from over 300 leading companies participated in the road show to explore attractive growth opportunities across Odisha s focus sectors.
During the event Patnaik also launched a single user-friendly portal "Invest Odisha" which would enable investors to compare the competitiveness of Odisha with other states and countries and take informed investment decisions.

--IANS cd-vv/nir