Three States apply for petrochemical region

02-Jan-08

Three states of South India have submitted applications for setting up of petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment regions (PCPIR) to the Centre- listing Oil and Natural Gas Corporation as the key investment partner. Keen interest has been evinced by states of Orissa and in developing a PCPIR. As per presentations submitted by the Andhra Pradesh Government, ONGC's proposed Rs. 25,000-crore Kakinada refinery and an adjacent Rs. 5,000 crore polypropylene unit would be anchor investments for PCPIR between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. Gas from the ONGC's fields in offshore Krishna Godavari basin would land in the proposed region. The Karnataka Government's application in Dakshina Kannada and Udipi districts has listed investments proposed by the ONGC subsidiary, Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), for expansion of its capacity from 9.69 mln tons to 15 mln tons with an investment of Rs. 8,000 crore. A Rs. 35,000-crore integrated petrochemical complex is listed as an anchor investor. The 250 sq. km. PCPIR, expected to attract investments worth Rs. 230,000 crore; would entitle a Rs. 6,557 crore from the Centre and Rs. 3,590 crore from the State Government for infrastructure upgradation. Gujarat state lists ONGC's Rs. 13,000-crore multi-feed cracker and the Rs. 3,400-crore C2/C4 extraction plant at Dahej as anchor investments for the proposed PCPIR at Dahej in Bharuch district. The State's 453 sq. km. PCPIR is projected to entail an investment of Rs. 9,935 crore in infrastructure. It is expected to attract an investment of around Rs. 230,000 crore.