KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, May 22: Chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumaramangalam Birla on Thursday said Orissa was an important investment destination of the Group companies.

Replying to reporters' queries after he met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here, Birla said different companies of the Group were planning huge investments in the State.

All the investments put together would be to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore in sectors such as alumina, cement, telecommunication and retail. This includes the investments already made in the ongoing projects.

During his meeting with Patnaik at the State Secretariat, Birla reportedly discussed about the problems facing the ongoing projects of the Group companies and the projects for which memoranda of understanding had been signed.

As regards the Utkal Alumina International Ltd's alumina refinery of project at Kashipur in Rayagada district where the affected people have been demanding more benefits, Birla said the company had sought the intervention of the government to resolve the issues involved.

Apart from the alumina refinery at Kashipur, the other projects for which the company has signed MoUs include a world class aluminium complex in Koraput and Sambalpur districts at a cost of Rs 11,000 crore, and a cement plant in Sundargarh district.