Odisha Approves Rs 2.47 Lakh Crore in Industrial Projects, Led by Data Centers and AI

Odisha's High-Level Clearance Authority has approved 27 major industrial projects worth Rs 2,47,115 crore across 15 districts, in a sweeping investment package that positions data centers and artificial intelligence as the state's fastest-growing industrial pillars. The approvals, granted at the 46th meeting of the HLCA chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, carry a combined employment potential of 50,162 jobs.

The scale of the commitment underscores how India's eastern states are competing for the digital infrastructure buildout that has become a defining feature of the country's economic expansion. Data centers, which serve as the physical backbone of cloud computing and AI workloads, have attracted intense investment interest across Asia as global technology firms race to expand computing capacity.

Four projects in IT, IT-enabled services and data centers account for approximately Rs 1,42,941 crore — more than half of the total approved investment. High Density Datacentre Limited will establish an integrated data center in Khordha with an investment of Rs 1,04,550 crore, creating 1,000 jobs. HCL Technologies Limited will build an AI-optimised data center in the same district at a cost of Rs 14,257 crore, generating 385 jobs. Sentraforge AI Ltd will set up an AI data center and global capability center in Puri with Rs 22,634 crore and 2,320 jobs, while RKD Construction Private Limited will develop a data center in Cuttack with Rs 1,500 crore and 220 jobs.

Power and energy formed the second-largest investment block, with four projects totalling Rs 54,287.70 crore and 5,300 job opportunities. NLC India Limited received clearance for a 3,200 MW thermal plant in Debagarh at Rs 34,763.51 crore, generating 4,100 jobs, and a 1,080 MW thermal plant in Angul at Rs 11,604.19 crore with 1,000 employment potential. Two pumped-storage hydro projects were also approved: a 600 MW plant worth Rs 4,020 crore in Rayagada by BEKEM Infra Projects Private Limited and a 750 MW plant in Koraput by Sri Avantika Contractor (I) Limited at Rs 3,900 crore.

In the steel sector, two projects in Sundargarh involving Rs 14,000 crore were cleared. Rungta Mines proposed Rs 9,000 crore for the expansion of its integrated steel plant with potential employment of 12,000, while Shakambhari Ispat and Power will invest Rs 5,000 crore in an integrated steel, cement and captive power complex with 5,000 jobs.

Lab-grown diamond manufacturing emerged as another significant investment area, with five projects totalling Rs 10,680 crore approved. These include investments by Dholakia Lab Grown Diamond, Greenlab Diamonds, Neorganic Diamonds, Nouveau Diamonds and Supreme Green Diamonds, with a combined employment potential of 8,850 jobs.

In advanced manufacturing, SICSEM Pvt Ltd's proposal to establish a facility for manufacturing silicon carbide wafers and gallium nitride in Khordha with an investment of Rs 2,078 crore was approved. Aare Solar will set up a 10 GWh advanced LFP battery energy storage system assembly plant in Nuapada at Rs 1,050 crore, while Larsen and Toubro will establish a Rs 5,000-crore green energy equipment manufacturing unit in Ganjam. Jiribam Solar Power will invest Rs 3,000 crore in a Kendrapada facility to produce green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol and electro-sustainable aviation fuel, with potential employment for 1,000 people. L&T also secured approval for an integrated advanced fabrication and manufacturing complex worth Rs 2,100 crore and a shipbuilding and ship-repair complex worth Rs 1,000 crore, both in Ganjam, expected to generate 1,700 jobs.

In healthcare infrastructure, Adani Foundation proposed a 1,000-bed multi-super-speciality hospital in Khordha with an investment of Rs 2,150 crore and potential employment of 1,700. Tata Steel will invest Rs 3,329 crore in a 7 MTPA iron ore grinding unit with a slurry pipeline in Jajpur, strengthening the mineral-to-metal logistics chain serving the Kalinganagar industrial region. Among other approvals, Grasim Industries will invest Rs 1,425 crore in a basic chemical products manufacturing plant in Ganjam, Talcher Gasifier and Chemicals proposed Rs 1,750 crore for a chemical manufacturing unit in Dhenkanal, Leaomax Textile will invest Rs 1,200 crore in a composite textile mill in Kalahandi, and Chiripal Poly Films will set up an OHT tyre manufacturing unit in Bhadrak with an investment of Rs 1,125 crore.

The 27 projects are spread across Angul, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Debagarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kendrapara, Khordha, Koraput, Nuapada, Puri, Rayagada and Sundargarh districts. The concentration of data center and AI investments in Khordha and Puri signals Odisha's ambition to become a digital infrastructure hub, leveraging its coastal location and emerging industrial ecosystem to attract the capital-intensive facilities that underpin next-generation computing.