Odisha government today approved four major PPP projects while two other proposals to set up World Trade Centre and a Convention Centre got in-principle approval, official sources said. The World Trade Centre will come up near Fortune Tower, while the convention centre will be built on Janata Maidan.
The World Trade Centre will be a single-tower, 20-storey building that will house offices of IT companies and corporate houses. An Empowered Committee headed by Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra approved projects which included Municipal Solid Waste Management proposed by Berhampur Municipal Corporation, four-laning of Sambalpur-Rourkela section of State Highway-10.
It also approved Energy Efficient Public Street Lighting Project in Bhubaneswar and appointing transaction advisor for a solid waste management project at Puri before 2015, said Development Commissioner I Srinivas. The state government will shortly ink an agreement with Mumbai’s World Trade Centre, a delegation of which had met the state officials in 2011 and had offered a proposal to this effect.
There are 323 such trade centres in 95 countries with nearly one million business associates that account for more than a third of the world trade. “It will act as a platform to attract investment to the state from the outside world. It will promote international trade and investment in our state,” said Development commissioner Injeti Srinivas. Though the state government is planning to implement the two projects in a public-private-partnership mode, it will own both centres.