Title - State favours OMC participation in railway projects

With the State-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) sitting on huge cash reserve, the three railway zones, which have presence in the State, have been urged to make most out of it by seeking equity participation of corporation in prospective railway infrastructure projects.The State government, through the Transport Department, has approached general managers of East Coast Railway, South Eastern Railway, and South East Central Railway to consider seeking participation of OMC in future railway projects in the State.Riding the boom in mineral trade, the OMC has performed exceedingly well during past one decade. In 2011-12, the OMC made a net profit of Rs. 1,269 crore.The cash reserve of OMC has now crossed Rs. 4,000-crore mark which is being kept in shape of fixed deposits in various banks.“The OMC has recently requested the State government to explore the possibility of leveraging the cash reserve for development of much needed infrastructure in the State such as rail, road, port, and power,” Sanjay Mahapatra, Commissioner of Rail Coordination, wrote to General Managers of three railway zones urging them to seek OMC’s participation if there was any scope for investment in railway projects in the State.

High-level meet

In fact, at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik here recently, the OMC has been advised to explore the possibility of capital investment in various infrastructure development projects in the State whereby the OMC could earn a reasonable return on its investment and also facilitate development of much-needed infrastructure of the State.