AP: BPCL refinery near Ramayapatnam Port to cost Rs 1.45 lakh crore
Amaravati, Sept 16 (TNT): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday directed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to expedite work on the proposed greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical project near Ramayapatnam Port in Prakasam district.
BPCL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Khanna, who met the Chief Minister, said the project cost had increased to around Rs 1.45 lakh crore.
The integrated refinery, proposed between Prakasam and Nellore districts, will have an annual capacity of nine million tonnes.
Final environmental clearance is expected by the end of September, while the final investment cost will be determined in October after Engineers India Limited submits its study report, Khanna said.
Construction of the refinery will commence thereafter, he added.
The refinery is expected to produce around 5.4 million tonnes of products annually, including motor spirit, high-speed diesel and aviation turbine fuel, besides around 3.2 million tonnes of other petrochemical products.
The project will also produce HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride as by-products.
Naidu said 75 per cent of the 6,000 acres required for the project had already been handed over and the remaining land would be handed over by the second week of October.
The Chief Minister suggested that BPCL and APIIC jointly prepare a plan for a downstream petrochemicals park spread over about 1,500 acres near the refinery.
He said the refinery should be designed keeping in view future demand for petrochemical products arising from urbanisation and the expansion of the manufacturing sector.
Naidu also suggested greater focus on chemical feedstocks such as ethylene and propylene and the production of advanced materials, apart from conventional fuel products.
Khanna said India’s chemical and petrochemical sector was expected to reach USD 1 trillion by 2040 and BPCL would work towards meeting future requirements.
The meeting was attended by BPCL Director (Finance) V R K Gupta, AP Refinery Executive Director Rajeev, GM (Retail) T Chaturvedi, Industries Department Secretary Yuvaraj and other senior officials.
TNT KM
