First petro region in seven months: Paswan

The first of the gigantic petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment regions (PCPIRs) "" each of which is projected to attract investment of Rs 70,000 crore "" is likely to get off the ground by the end of the year, according to Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

"The PCPIRs will be infrastructure-driven. There will be no tax incentives for the investing companies," Paswan said, while launching the PCPIR policy today. The first such region could be in Gujarat or Andhra Pradesh.

Once the PCPIRs are notified by December, the central government will invest around Rs 10,000 crore for providing linkages like roads, airports and ports, while each state government will invest another Rs 10,000 crore for facilities like electricity, water and sewerage. This would be in addition to the Rs 70,000 crore investment expected in these regions.

The government will not acquire land for the PCPIRs to avoid controversies like Singur. This will be an issue "completely between the companies and the farmers who may be displaced during land acquisition," said Paswan.

State governments are bullish on the expected investment. The Andhra Pradesh government, for example, is expecting an investment inflow of over $50 billion.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have together committed $10 billion in the PCPIR, according to Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation vice-chairman and managing director BP Acharya.