Strengthening its century-old relationship with Odisha further, Tata Steel today performed the ground breaking ceremony of the Gopalpur Industrial Park (GIP) at Gopalpur in southern Odisha. The park is expected to attract investments of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore and generate employment for around 10,000 people.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Sri Naveen Patnaik, in the presence of a host of dignitaries who included Odisha’s Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, Sri S N Patro and Minister for Rural Development and Law, Sri Bikram Keshari Arukh.

Others who graced the occasion included Sri Nityananda Pradhan, Sri Sidhant Mohapatra and Smt Renubala Pradhan, Honourable Members of Parliament, and Honourable MLAs Sri Niranjan Pradhan, Dr Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi , Purna Chandra Sethy, Purna Chandra Swain and Debaraj Mohanty.

Tata Steel was represented by its Managing Director, Mr H M Nerurkar, and its Vice President Corporate Services, Mr Sanjiv Paul, among others.

Anchor investments of Rs 1000 crore proposed to be made by Tata Steel at the Gopalpur Industrial Park include spend for a 50,000 TPA Ferro Chrome Plant and 400,000 TPA Rebar Steel Mill. This will generate employment opportunities for more than 1,000 people.

The Gopalpur Industrial Park is being developed by Tata Steel to facilitate industrial development of the region. The Park will primarily attract investments in steel and allied downstream industries, engineering, chemicals and other emerging sectors.

In his address, the Chief Minister of Odisha, Sri Naveen Patnaik described the day as a happy and memorable one and expressed the hope that the project would be implemented soon. He said, the Gopalpur Industrial Park would attract investments from diverse sectors of industry like steel, metals, engineering, chemicals, gems and jewelry, marine products etc.

Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director of Tata Steel, Mr H M Nerurkar, said, “I am extremely happy that the process of industrialization in this region is taking off with the setting up of the Gopalpur Industrial Park”. He informed that Tata Steel would invest Rs 1000 crore on a 50,000 TPA Ferro Chrome Plant and 400,000 TPA Rebar Steel Mill.

He also informed that the projects are being designed with rain water harvesting, hundred percent recycling and desalination of sea water. This will ensure green development while ensuring that irrigation doesn’t suffer.

Mr Nerurkar appealed to all concerned to ensure the success of these two projects with a view to boosting investors’ confidence and thereby helping in attracting investments to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore to the Gopalpur Industrial Park. “This will greatly facilitate sustainable economic development in and around Ganjam district”, he added.

Tata Steel will leverage the strength of companies in the Tata Group to develop the internal and external infrastructure with a view to attracting maximum investment to the industrial park, the pre-feasibility study of which was undertaken by Ernst & Young. Jurong Consultants of Singapore have developed the concept Master Plan for Gopalpur Industrial Park.

Besides generating substantial employment opportunities, Gopalpur Industrial Park will also contribute to the all-round economic development of the region.

Tata Steel Group is investing Rs 35,000 crore in the Steel, Ferro Alloys, Port, Power and other sectors of industry in Odisha. Together, these projects will generate employment for more than 30,000 people in the State.

About Tata Steel
Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is among the top ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 28 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of US$ 29 billion in FY '09, has over 80,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company. The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspirational targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management.