Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated two industrial projects and laid foundation stone of 13 others via videoconferencing at the State Secretariat during the third groundbreaking ceremony.

The projects at a cumulative investment of Rs 2,901 crores will create as many as 3,091 jobs, official sources said.

The Chief Minister inaugurated a Rs 110 crore caustic soda manufacturing unit of Grasim Industries in Ganjam and a 10 mw solar power plant of Jyoti Solar Solutions, which has invested Rs 57.17 crore in Balangir.

He also conducted the ground-breaking ceremony of 13 other projects which include OCL India, IFFCO, Jajpur Cement, Indo Nissin Foods, Hindustan Urban Infrastructure, Shree Malani Foams, Suguna Foods, Saizar Enterprise, MK Plast, Aradhana Plastic, Tidal Trading, Weaverbird Engineering Technology and Utkal Speciality.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said "Odisha is fast emerging as the ‘Manufacturing Hub of Eastern India’ and we are working towards developing the State into a ‘Manufacturing Hub of South Asia’."

"My government has promulgated progressive policies and developed state-of-the-art infrastructure besides demonstrating commitment to deliver projects on ground, which is reflected in the fact that out of the investment intents received, close to 65% projects are in various stages of approval and implementation," Patnaik said.

Worth mentioning, the first groundbreaking ceremony was held in November, 2017 for 15 manufacturing units which grounded investments worth Rs 11,690 crore with scope to generate 8,187 jobs.

Similarly, the second groundbreaking ceremony in May, this year witnessed the inauguration of 7 manufacturing units and groundbreaking of 12 units with cumulative investment grounded at Rs 2,675 crore.