VIJAYAWADA: Informing that the Centre is ready to set up a petrochemical corridor in Andhra Pradesh, Industries and Commerce Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the project would generate 50 lakh jobs after its completion.He said the Centre has assured the state to fund Rs 1000 crore for a greenfield refinery to produce ethanol from molasses arriving from sugar factories.
Mekapati, along with Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das and a team of officials from the state government, called on Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the petrochemical corridor.Speaking to mediapersons, the Union minister said the Centre would invest Rs 25,000 crore or more for the project, and anticipated that the corridor may attract investments to the tune of Rs two lakh crore in two-three years as many ancillary units are expected to come up there.
Stating that the delegation met the Union Minister and submitted a presentation in continuation to the talks between Pradhan and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the state minister said the Centre responded positively and the works for the project will commence at the earliest with its approval.As per the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, IOC or HPCL, within six months from the appointed day, should examine the feasibility of establishing a greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh, and take expeditious decisions thereon.
Accordingly, feasibility for establishing 1MMTPA cracker complex at Kakinada with an investment of Rs 32,900 crore by the HPCL-GAIL consortium was carried out and support of the Government of Andhra Pradesh was sought in terms of viability gap funding for the project.Given the fact that the Union government has reduced the Corporate Tax, and interest rates have also come down, the Cracker & Petroleum complex project would perhaps become viable without any viability gap funding. As such, Jagan Mohan Reddy had met the Union Minister for Petroleum and requested support of the Centre in taking the strategic project forward without viability gap support.
As a result of the discussions, a working group has been constituted under the chairmanship of joint secretary (refineries), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with the state government officials. Engineers India Limited and SBI Caps were advised to re-work the finances in view of the recent regulatory changes in Corporate Tax and interest rates.