Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has decided to undertake a unique study on logistics infrastructure of Odisha which cover all modes of transport like road, rail, inland waterways, slurry transportation, public transport, port and air connectivity.

ICC has joined hand with Odisha government and RITES Limited to undertake the study and prepare a compressive report.

The study will be carried out with an assessment of the existing infrastructure and future expansion plans of the industries, the road and rail infrastructure of the state. Evaluation of port infrastructure, the potential capacity of inland waterways in relation to types of cargo and volumes and existing and potential capacity of pipelines for transportation of iron ore mines and oil and petroleum products will also be collected for the study

In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony was held for ‘Comprehensive report on Transport Logistics Infrastructure of Odisha’ at IDCO conference Hall, Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

ICC signed two separate agreements, one with Odisha Government and other with RITES Limited in presence of Asit Tripathy, Chairman, WODC and Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, Pradeep Kumar Jena, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Convergence Department and other eminent dignitaries.

On this occasion, Asit Tripathy, Chairman, WODC and Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, Government of Odisha said that, “We all know about the transport infrastructure constraint of the state. We keep on asking industries about the problem they are facing in regular interval and prepared action plan accordingly to solve that. We did construction in Keonjhar and Sundergarh areas using DMF fund. Caol corridor work is also going on from last few years.”

Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries Department opined that, “We expect this report will suggest some actionable recommendation to government for improvement in transport infrastructure. It is a meaningful exercise as state government, ICC and RITES like organizations involved in it.”

J B Pany Chairman, ICC Odisha State Council said that, “The study involves wide ranging consultation with various departments to collect and collate information and data to prepare the report. Government of Odisha will provide all necessary support for the study. ICC shall make available the final report to government.”