Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the Rs 18,919-crore Guru Gobind Singh Bathinda refinery, would contribute Rs 5,000 crore to the state's exchequer.
Noting that the refiner would be ready by March 2011, three months ahead of the schedule, Badal said 65 per cent work on the refinery has been completed and 60 per cent work on laying of pipeline has also been finished.
"According to a study conducted by Panjab University, Chandigarh, the commissioning of 9 million metric tonne refinery would contribute a growth of Rs 5,000 crore to the state economy," he at press conference here.
The CM held a meeting with high level delegation led by Prabh Das, chief executive officer of HPCL-Mittal Energy (HMEL).
On being asked about the state government's stance on the concession sought by HMEL, he said that a committee comprising State Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and Chief Secretary S C Aggarwal would look into the demands.
Promoters of HMEL have been demanding more fiscal incentives from the Punjab government for this project.
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More than 700 km of connecting pipeline out of 1,000 km had been laid from Mundra port in Gujarat to Bathinda and the remaining 300 km would be completed by May this year, the Chief Minister was told.
The company had already spent nearly Rs 7,000 crore on the project which entails a total investment of nearly Rs 19,000 crore.
To meet the targeted schedule, over 30,000 workers were actively engaged at various project sites.
The company was in touch with various industries for development of medium and small scale industries, with Petro Chemical Hubs being proposed in Ludhiana and Bathinda, Badal said.
Meanwhile, the CM said that the Centre had sanctioned Rs 211 crore river cleaning project for five towns in Punjab--Jalandhar, Phagwara, Phillaur, Banga and Nawanshahr.
On the Bt brinjal issue, Badal said he had asked Punjab Agricultural University to conduct an in-depth study that would consider all aspects, including health issues, before the state finalises its stand.
Badal also said that during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he urged him not to extend industrial concessions to the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as it was putting Punjab's industry in a position of disadvantage.
The CM also said that the Union Agriculture Minister and the Planning Commission had recommended Rs 800 crore for Punjab and Rs 400 crore for Haryana since both the states succeeded in exceeding the paddy target despite drought-like situation and power shortage faced last year.
He also said that Punjab had sought Rs 763 crore from the centre for revamping and upgrading its century-old canal network system.