GBK Zone (Gopalpur–Bhubaneswar–Kalinganagar)
GBK is the OEC’s northern node-zone, anchored conceptually on the Kalinganagar steel belt. The NICDP node is on hold pending land confirmation, but the adjoining Kalinganagar Industrial Complex (state-led, ~13,000 acres) is one of India’s largest operating steel hubs — Tata Steel inaugurated a 5-MTPA Phase-II expansion (~₹27,000 cr) there in May 2025, alongside NINL, Jindal and VISA. The opportunity is real; the corridor node is the part that has not yet moved.
Adjacent operating economy
The Kalinganagar/Jajpur steel cluster — Tata Steel (now ~8 MTPA at Kalinganagar after the 2025 expansion), NINL, Jindal Steel, VISA Steel, MESCO — is the live industrial story on this stretch, but it is a state IDCO complex that predates and sits beside the NICDP GBK node rather than being delivered by it.