NLC India signs Odisha MoUs for Rs 35,000 crore 3,200 MW power plant

State-owned NLC India Limited (NLCIL) signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL) in Mumbai on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The largest covers a proposed 3,200 megawatt (MW) coal-based thermal power plant in Odisha with a potential investment of about Rs 35,000 crore. The other two cover a beach sand minerals facility worth about Rs 2,000 crore and a feasibility study on coal gasification for fertiliser use. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was present at the signing.

For Odisha, the agreements add to a push by the state government to bring large industrial projects into the state. A 3,200 MW power plant is a large project by any measure. If it is built, it would add a big block of electricity generation capacity, along with construction work, local supply contracts and permanent jobs at the plant. The state's investment agency signing the agreements, with the Chief Minister present, shows the state is treating the projects as a priority.

It is important to read the agreements for what they are. An MoU is a statement of intent between two parties, not a final investment decision. The figures announced, Rs 35,000 crore for the power plant and Rs 2,000 crore for the minerals facility, are described as potential or tentative investments. The reports so far say the projects are at the proposal and exploration stage. Land, environmental clearances, coal supply, power purchase arrangements and board approvals all still have to be worked out before construction can start.

The power plant is planned with ultra-supercritical technology. In simple terms, this means the boilers run water and steam at very high temperatures and pressures, which lets the plant turn more of the heat from burning coal into electricity. Better efficiency means less coal is burned and less carbon dioxide is released for each unit of power, compared with older designs, although the plant would still run on coal.

The coal gasification study points to a different use of coal. Gasification turns coal into a gas mixture called syngas, mostly hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can then be used as a raw material in chemical plants, including for fertilisers. At this stage NLCIL has agreed only to study whether such a project is technically workable in Odisha.

The beach sand minerals facility is the smallest of the three in money terms. Beach sand along parts of India's eastern coast contains heavy minerals used in paints, ceramics, welding and other industries. The company has not yet said where in Odisha the facility would be or how much it would process.

Short-term: Nothing changes on the ground immediately. The next steps are site selection, detailed project reports and the approvals needed before any money is committed.

Long-term: If the power plant and minerals unit go ahead as proposed, Odisha would gain a major new source of electricity, thousands of jobs and new business for local suppliers. The gasification study could, if positive, open a path to a fertiliser-linked project in the state.

Who is affected: Job seekers and contractors in Odisha, the districts that are eventually chosen as sites, electricity consumers who could draw on the added capacity, and NLCIL itself, which would be expanding beyond its traditional base.

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