Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday said that Odisha has attracted investment intents worth more than Rs 22.5 lakh crore in the last two years since the BJP govt assumed office in the state, with the latest business outreach in the UAE bringing proposals worth Rs 2.43 lakh crore.The UAE visit was Majhi’s second overseas investment roadshow after a similar outreach in Singapore in Nov 2024.Speaking to reporters at Bhubaneswar airport upon his return from UAE, Majhi said Odisha had received investment intents exceeding Rs 17 lakh crore during the Utkarsh Odisha-Make in Odisha Conclave held in Jan last year, while subsequent domestic roadshows generated proposals worth another Rs 3 lakh crore. “With investment intents worth Rs 2.43 lakh crore secured during the UAE outreach, the total value of investment proposals received by the state has reached approximately Rs 22.5 lakh crore,” he said.According to the CM, the Odisha delegation held 52 business engagements in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from Sept 9 to 11, including six roundtable discussions and 46 one-on-one meetings with around 400 industry leaders and representatives from the UAE and other Gulf countries.Majhi said the state signed eight MoUs and received 16 investment intents, worth Rs 2,43,162 crore across sectors such as aluminium, critical minerals, green hydrogen, logistics, food processing, textiles and semiconductors. “These investments are expected to generate over nine lakh jobs, including 6.18 lakh direct employment opportunities,” the CM said.Describing the UAE outreach as a significant step in Odisha’s long-term growth strategy, Majhi said the partnerships would support the state’s vision of becoming a $500-billion economy by 2036 and a $1.5-trillion economy by 2047.“The next focus will be on translating investment intents and partnership discussions into projects on the ground through faster implementation, job creation, value addition and stronger domestic and global linkages,” he added.However, the opposition BJD termed the govt’s claims as ‘hollow’, alleging that many of the investment proposals highlighted during the UAE visit had been announced earlier. “The govt is making misleading claims about fresh investments. Several of the proposals showcased in the UAE are old commitments presented in a repackaged form. Barring a few projects, most proposals announced over the past two years are yet to take off,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said.The BJP dismissed the criticism, asserting that the UAE visit marked another milestone in Odisha’s industrialisation push. State industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain said the govt has already conducted groundbreaking ceremonies for projects worth around Rs 3.2 lakh crore, with several projects having been inaugurated. “The opposition should base its statements on facts. The progress achieved in the past two years is comparable to what was accomplished during their much longer tenure,” Swain added.
