Odisha’s installed steel capacity is expected to reach 150 million to 180 million tonnes within the next five years as the state shifts from mineral extraction towards downstream manufacturing, advanced metals processing and technology-led industrial growth, senior government officials said at the CII Odisha Metals & Mining Conclave-2026 in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Hemant Sharma, additional chief secretary in the industries department, said Odisha had moved beyond its traditional identity as a mining centre and was emerging as a major metals hub in India and South Asia. He said around 20 new mines had become operational over the past two to three years, while another 30 were at different stages of development.
The expansion is expected to create opportunities not only in steel production but also in logistics, technology and ancillary services. These activities will require supporting industrial infrastructure and supply chains around mining and manufacturing locations, although the officials did not announce a detailed project-wise implementation schedule for the capacity target.
Industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain said the state’s focus was now on obtaining greater value from its mineral resources through downstream industries and advanced manufacturing. “We must make more in Odisha from what we mine in Odisha,” he said at the conclave.
The state has approved 27 industrial projects worth Rs 2.47 lakh crore across 15 districts, according to Swain. The projects are expected to generate more than 50,000 jobs. The approved investments include around Rs 14,000 crore in steel and downstream sectors in Sundargarh, along with major proposals linked to aluminium.
The emphasis on downstream production could alter the structure of Odisha’s industrial economy by linking mining more closely with processing, manufacturing and technology services. Rather than limiting economic activity to the extraction and shipment of minerals, the government is seeking to locate more stages of the value chain within the state.
Industry representatives at the event said the next phase of growth would need to include beneficiation, recycling, circular-economy practices and resource-efficient operations. Anil Kumar Singh, chairman of the CII Odisha State Council, said sustainable growth would require greater attention to advanced manufacturing, resource efficiency and digital transformation.
The comments place technology and environmental performance alongside production capacity in the state’s industrial development agenda. Discussions at the two-day conclave include sustainable mining, artificial intelligence-driven operations, the circular economy, critical minerals, logistics and skill development.
The scale of the proposed investment also gives the expansion a district-level dimension. With projects approved across 15 districts, the industrial programme is not confined to a single manufacturing cluster. However, the material available from the conclave does not specify the location, investment size, construction schedule or operating status of each of the 27 projects.
The proposed steel capacity would also increase the importance of transport and logistics networks connecting mines, processing units, manufacturing facilities and markets. The government and industry participants identified logistics and ancillary services as areas of opportunity, but no new corridor, port link, railway project or road package was announced at the event.
The conclave is scheduled to conclude on Saturday, with policymakers, industry executives, technology experts and other stakeholders discussing the development of a future-ready metals and mining ecosystem aligned with the vision of Viksit Odisha@2036. Further details on project execution, technology adoption, skills and resource-efficiency measures are expected to emerge from those discussions.
