New Delhi: The Centre has granted final approval to the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal Friday said that the Centre has undertaken steps to create/upgrade external infrastructure linkages in the region after receiving proposals in this regard from the state government.
According to Goyal, work for widening of 121 km road between Kalinganagar and Paradip is already on. Besides, work has started to upgrade the 132 km stretch from Talcher to Chandikhole via Durburi to a four-lane thoroughfare.
Goyal further stated that a broad gauge railway covering 104.24 Km between Angul and Sukinda is being constructed, providing direct link between the iron-ore rich areas of Odisha (Joda-Barbil) to Angul where many steel and sponge iron industries are located. The project will also provide alternative route from the coal mining belt of Talcher to coal-based the thermal power plant in Kalinganagar industrial areas.
The minister further said that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of National Waterway-5 connecting waterways between Kalinganagar, Paradip and Dharma Ports in Odisha has been undertaken and development of an Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal in the south of NIMZ near Pankapal village has been planned to meet external infrastructure linkage requirement for NIMZ at Kalinganagar.