Odisha CM Mohan Majhi Outlines Investment And Infrastructure Push

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday projected the state as an emerging investment destination, highlighting its improved ranking in the NITI Aayog’s Investment Friendliness Index and announcing a major road infrastructure push involving an investment of Rs 31,000 crore.

Addressing the people on the 80th Independence Day, Majhi said Odisha had created a conducive ecosystem for investment and claimed that investor confidence in the state had increased significantly.

“Yahi samay hai, sahi samay hai” (This is the time, this is the right time), he said, referring to the growing interest among leading industrialists in investing in Odisha.

The Chief Minister said Odisha had secured a place among the country’s top five states in the NITI Aayog’s Investment Friendliness Index 2026.

Majhi attributed the improvement to the state government’s emphasis on infrastructure, saying Odisha was spending 6.5 per cent of its State GDP on infrastructure development, the highest proportion among states, according to his address.

He said the government’s “double-engine” development model was focusing on roads, bridges, ports and airports to create the infrastructure required for sustained economic growth.

Highlighting the Centre’s support, Majhi said railway projects worth around Rs 1 lakh crore were being taken up in Odisha. The state is also witnessing the modernisation of 59 railway stations, while national highway projects worth about Rs 40,000 crore are under construction or upgradation, he said.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the Puri International Airport project and the development of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region (BKPPER) at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

He said these projects had the potential to transform Odisha’s economic landscape and accelerate its development trajectory.

Majhi announced three major road infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity across the state.

According to him, steps have been initiated for construction of the Namo Expressway from Berhampur to Jeypore and from Paralakhemundi to Ambabhona, besides the Atal Expressway from Motu to Tiringi.

The state government will invest Rs 31,000 crore in the three projects, he said.

The announcements come against the backdrop of the Odisha government’s larger pitch to position the state as a competitive destination for manufacturing, infrastructure and other investments.

In his Independence Day address, Majhi also underlined Odisha’s contribution to India’s freedom movement and paid tribute to freedom fighters from the state and across the country.

The Chief Minister also listed the end of Left Wing Extremism as one of the major achievements of the past 12 years, saying Odisha had been among the major beneficiaries of the decline in Maoist violence.

Nearly half of Odisha, he said, had once been affected by “Red Terror”, but the situation had changed substantially with the support and guidance of the Centre.

Majhi linked Odisha’s development trajectory with the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the country had become more confident, self-reliant and capable of addressing the aspirations of its citizens.