Odisha CM Mohan Majhi lays the foundation for a ₹100 crore textile park and a ₹187 crore data centre in Keonjhar district.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday laid the foundation stone for two major projects in Keonjhar district — a ₹100 crore textile park and a ₹187 crore disaster recovery and data centre — signalling the state’s push towards industrial diversification and digital resilience.
The projects were inaugurated at a function held on the campus of Dharanidhar University, Majhi’s home district. Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said Keonjhar would move beyond its traditional identity as a mineral and steel hub to emerge as a diversified industrial centre.
An ultra-modern apparel manufacturing unit by Hindalco Industries Limited, the flagship metals company of the Aditya Birla Group, will be the anchor investment in the textile park. Spread over seven acres, the facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 24 lakh garments.
The Odisha government has already allotted land for the project. Once operational, the unit is expected to generate around 1,200 direct jobs, with significant employment opportunities for women and youth in the region. Majhi said the unit will manufacture garments for leading brands including Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England, with exports targeted at global markets.
Calling the project a milestone for the state, the chief minister said it aligns with Odisha’s strategy to expand value-added manufacturing beyond mining and heavy industries. Highlighting the employment potential of the textile sector, Majhi referred to the Odisha Tex 2025 conclave held in Bhubaneswar last year, where 33 memorandums of understanding worth ₹7,800 crore were signed, with a projected employment generation of over 53,000 jobs.
In addition to a technical textile park in Bhadrak, similar textile and apparel parks are under development in Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Balangir, Ganjam, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur. The chief minister also laid the foundation stone for a disaster recovery and data centre to be developed by the Electronics and Information Technology department through the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC).
Built at an estimated cost of ₹187 crore, the facility will act as a backup to the state data centre in Bhubaneswar and ensure uninterrupted delivery of more than 400 online government services during natural disasters or cyber incidents. Majhi noted that Keonjhar’s classification under low seismic risk (Zone II) makes it an ideal location for critical digital infrastructure. He described the data centre as essential for secure data storage, disaster preparedness and strengthening Odisha’s digital governance and data localisation framework.
Reiterating the government’s emphasis on inclusive growth, Majhi said ₹312 crore has been allocated for temple development in Keonjhar, while projects worth ₹1,900 crore were launched earlier during the district’s Makar festival. “A prosperous Odisha will be built through the prosperity of its districts. Industrial growth and digital empowerment are key drivers of our journey toward a developed India,” he said.
The event was attended by Keonjhar MP Ananta Nayak, MLAs Akhila Chandra Naik and Fakir Mohan Naik, Hindalco President (Corporate Affairs) Ardhendu Mohapatra, district collector Vishal Singh, OCAC CEO Pradeep Kumar Rout, and other senior officials.