Bhubaneswar, Aug. 7: The city’s skyline is set to undergo a major transformation with a World Trade Centre and an international convention centre being planned at Chandrasekharpur.

The World Trade Centre will come up near Fortune Tower, while the convention centre will be built on Janata Maidan.

The World Trade Centre will be a single-tower, 20-storey building that will house offices of IT companies and corporate houses.

The empowered committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra approved the proposals today.

Development commissioner Injeti Srinivas said around Rs 300 crore would be spent on building the two centres.

“The tender and bidding process for these projects are in the last phase of examination and evaluation, which is expected to be completed soon,” he said.

The state government will shortly ink an agreement with Mumbai’s World Trade Centre, a delegation of which had met the state officials in 2011 and had offered a proposal to this effect.

There are 323 such trade centres in 95 countries with nearly one million business associates that account for more than a third of the world trade. “It will act as a platform to attract investment to the state from the outside world. It will promote international trade and investment in our state,” said Srinivas.

The state government has so far attracted nearly Rs 7 lakh crore in the field of steel, mines, power and other sectors. The World Trade Centre here is expected to provide a fillip to the state’s attempt to attract more investment.

On the other hand, the international convention centre will be set up on 25 acres on Janata Maidan.

“There will be open space where people organise meetings and exhibitions. It will be built on a concrete structure,” Srinivas said.

Though the state government is planning to implement the two projects in a public-private-partnership mode, it will own both centres.

“A revenue model will soon be chalked out,” the development commissioner said.

The committee also decided to implement the Energy Efficient Public Street Lighting Project in the city proposed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. About 20,000 LED lights will be installed on the city roads.

“The LED lights will help in reducing the power bill of the civic body,” said an official.

It also approved the Biotech Park Project at Chhendipada and Common Corridor Project proposed by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and four-laning of the Sambalpur-Rourkela road at a cost of Rs 1,291 crore.

The empowered committee approved a solid waste management project in Puri and Berhampur.

This decision assumes significance as Puri will host the Nabakalebara festival in 2015, which is an event that involves changing the idols of the holy Trinity at the Jagannath temple. Nabakalebara takes place either in 12 or 19 years, according to the Hindu almanac