Bhubaneswar: The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul) has announced a Rs 250-crore investment in the state's dairy sector in a big boost to chief minister Naveen Patnaik's ambitions plan to turn Odisha into a manufacturing hub.

Amul managing director R.S. Sodhi announced it at a seminar on "Opportunities for Food Processing in Odisha" on Friday at the World Food India 2017 in Delhi.

Sodhi said Odisha was the second biggest market for Amul in the country, and there was a supply gap of 30 lakh litres of milk per day at present in the state.

Many other food-processing units have expressed their intentions to invest in the state's food processing sector.

Inviting entrepreneurs to invest in the state, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) minister Prafulla Samal, who chaired the seminar, said: "Our government is focussed on the food-processing sector and has introduced single-window facilitation to attract investors. Odisha has a dedicated food-processing policy and developed food parks at Deras near Bhubaneswar and in Rayagada district."

MSME department additional chief secretary L.N. Gupta said: "Odisha offers an enormous opportunity for the food-processing industry as the state has been blessed with 10 agro-climatic zones and a 480km coastline coupled with surplus production of cereals, rice and vegetables."

Gautam Sharma, managing director of INDO-Nissin Foods, also disclosed his plans to expand the capacity of its Khurda plant. The company has invested more than Rs 100 crore in Odisha.

Keventer Agro Ltd managing director Mayank Jalan, during his meeting with the Odisha delegation, expressed his intention to set up a unit for maize processing and promote banana cultivation here. Similarly, Tata Global Beverages Ltd has also short-listed Odisha as a potential location for a tea-packaging unit over 20 acres worth Rs 40 crore.