BHUBANESWAR: Development of the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Paradip in Jagatsingpur district remained sluggish compared to the Dahej hub in Gujarat despite commissioning a year before the latter, a NITI Aayog report has stated.
The report of the Centre’s apex policy think tank on ‘Positioning India as a global manufacturing hub’ has said downstream petrochemical development has taken time due to infrastructure gaps and slow investment decisions.
“The Paradip PCPIR in Odisha has made tangible progress, though at a slower pace compared to Gujarat. While the core refinery is operational, downstream petrochemical development has taken time due to infrastructure gaps and phased investment decisions,” the report said.
“Nevertheless, the region is considered operational, with continued efforts by the state government to attract petrochemical and chemical manufacturing units around the refinery complex,” the report added.
Paradip is among the four PCPIRs approved by the Centre, along with Dahej in Gujarat, Visakhapatnam-Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Cuddalore-Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. Of these, Dahej and Paradip are operational while the Andhra Pradesh PCPIR remains underdeveloped and the Tamil Nadu region has effectively stalled.
The NITI Aayog report underlined the need for integrated infrastructure, faster regulatory approvals and stronger coordination to unlock the full potential of PCPIRs which were conceived as large, infrastructure-led industrial clusters anchored by refineries and petrochemical complexes.
The Indian Oil Corporation’s Paradip refinery, commissioned in February 2016, serves as the anchor project for the state’s PCPIR. The report said that while the refinery is operational, downstream petrochemical development has taken time.
The region has so far attracted around Rs 47,000 crore in investments and generated about 40,000 jobs. However, downstream petrochemical development has progressed more gradually, with infrastructure gaps and phased investment decisions slowing the emergence of a fully integrated chemical manufacturing ecosystem around the refinery.
The contrast with Dahej highlights the importance of infrastructure in the development of PCPIRs. Gujarat’s hub has attracted more than `1.2 lakh crore in cumulative investment and generated an estimated 2.38 lakh direct and indirect jobs, supported by port connectivity, early infrastructure development, reliable utilities and an established petrochemical ecosystem.
The NITI Aayog report said the broader chemical industry faces three pressing constraints of inadequate infrastructure, regulatory bottlenecks and a shortage of skilled talent. It recommended that the government encourages investment in refineries to meet rising fuel demand, increase crude processing capacity and ensure availability of feedstock for downstream industries.
The PCPIR policy was designed to overcome precisely these constraints by creating large industrial clusters with shared utilities, logistics, ports and social infrastructure, the report added.