VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to expedite the greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical project works near Ramayapatnam Port. He also proposed setting up a downstream petrochemical park near the proposed refinery.
BPCL CMD Sanjay Khanna met the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Wednesday and informed him that the project being established between Prakasam and Nellore districts is estimated to cost around `1.45 lakh crore. He said an integrated greenfield refinery with a capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum is being planned.
The BPCL CMD informed the Chief Minister that the project is expected to receive final environmental clearance by the end of September.
The final investment cost is likely to be firmed up in October, and construction works on the refinery will commence thereafter, he said.
The BPCL CMD explained that the refinery would produce Euro-6 standard fuels, including Motor Spirit, High-Speed Diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel, with a combined production of around 5.4 million tonnes.
Other petrochemical products are expected to account for around 3.2 million tonnes.
The project will also generate downstream products and by-products such as HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The Chief Minister said 75 per cent of the 6,000 acres of land required for the refinery has already been handed over and assured that the remaining land would be handed over by the second week of October.
He directed officials and BPCL representatives to accelerate all project-related processes and ensure that construction works commence at the earliest. The Chief Minister suggested that BPCL and APIIC jointly prepare a plan for establishing a downstream petrochemical park over approximately 1,500 acres near the refinery. He observed that demand for petrochemicals is changing rapidly with increasing urbanisation.
