After the setting up of Rs 18,919 -crore Bathinda oil refinery by HPCL-Mittal Energy, Punjab will also see creation of polypropylene-based downstream industry involving estimated investment of Rs 1,100 crore with employment opportunities for 9,000 people.
"The setting up of oil refinery at Bathinda will also create polypropylene-based industry in the state ... That is expected to attract an investment of close to Rs 1,100 crore," official sources told PTI.
The refinery will have the capacity to produce 4.40 lakh tonnes of polypropylene, they said, adding that polypropylene granules, at present, are produced in Gujarat and Maharashtra. With Ludhiana, Bathinda, Banur and Lalru being seen as most attractive locations for the setting up of polypropylene- based industry, about 50 per cent of the total produce would be consumed by the state itself, sources said.
Polypropylene granules are mainly used by plastic industry such as woven sack and film units as main raw material in manufacturing of plastic items like buckets, toys, plastic furniture, casing of electrical equipments, wrapping films, woven sack bags for cement and food grains etc.
HPCL-Mittal Energy is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Mittal Energy Investment, a Lakshmi N Mittal Group company. Both the companies hold 49 per cent stake each in the JV and the rest 2 per cent is held by financial institutions.
Woven sack unit and biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) unit could be set up at an investment of Rs 16 crore and Rs 250 crore respectively.
Over 50 per cent work on 9 million tonnes Bathinda refinery project is complete with total expenditure of more than Rs 6,100 crore, state officials said, while adding that the project was likely to complete by early 2011.
After commissioning, the refinery would produce high value petroleum products such as LPG, naphtha, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, pet coke etc. The liquid products would be marketed through HPCL, the solid products like sulphur, per-coke and polypropylene would be sold directly by HMEL.