Odisha government to develop Rs 42.5 crore 'Centre of Excellence' in Keonjhar

BHUBANESWAR: The State government has initiated steps for developing the Government College of Engineering (GCE), Keonjhar into a centre of excellence (CoE) in earth science and technology. 

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Thursday. The institute will have advanced divisions in rock mechanics, rock excavation, mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, material testing, characterization, geology, environmental engineering, mining planning and design. It will have all research facilities on par with the Indian School of Mining, Dhanbad.

“The GCE, Keonjar has the potential to be upgraded to an institute of national importance with quality enhancement in academics, research and industry-institute interface.  The college has a permanent campus spread over 37 acre of land and offers consultancy support to mineral-based industries even with its limited resources” said Principal Secretary Skill Development and Technical Education Hemant Sharma. 

He said the ground level work from the construction of the building to installation and testing of equipment could be completed in 36 months from the date of ground breaking. The approximate budget requirement for the project is estimated at Rs 42.50 crore.

Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena suggested for a specialised geology division with a five-year integrated course in applied Geology, geo-physics and geo-engineering. He further advised the department to create a corpus fund for the institute to back the innovative research and development (R&D) activities.