Rajasthan govt interacts with global investors to promote investment

The Rajasthan government on Wednesday interacted with investors and companies from various countries regarding opportunities in the proposed petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region (PCPIR), according to an official release.

The state government is set to provide industrial land for the proposed PCPIR by July 2021, according to the release. The PCPIR is being developed by the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) near the 9-MTPA (million tonnes per annum) HPCL Rajasthan Refinery and Petrochemcial Complex in Barmer district of Rajasthan.

A virtual meeting between potential investors from across the world and the state government was held on Wednesday to promote investment in the region, it said.

Delegates from Embassies of the UAE and Brazil, along with the representatives of nearly 100 companies from various countries participated in the virtual meet. The companies were from countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Germany, the UK, the US, and Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil, Bahrain, Jordan and South Korea. Domestic investors also participated in this.

Representing the state government, senior ministers and officials assured investors of support and opportunities in the sector.

"It is the first global dialogue for investment, however, we wish to hold it as a continuous process for facilitating investments in the region," said the state's Industries Minister Parsadi Lal Meena.

The RCPIR is emerging as a lucrative investment destination in petrochemicals and ancillary industries due to advantages of location, connectivity, resources and policy incentives, an official statement said.

Along with the first phase, RIICO has identified 422 hectare of land in village Ramnagar (Thob) of the Barmer district, which is about 35 km from the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex.

The process for allocation of this land to RIICO has been started. Sixteen government land parcels of about 2,290 hactare have been identified in Barmer and Jodhpur districts. Further, additional land parcels are being identified in these districts, according to the statement.

A total investment of Rs 15,000 crore is expected in the PCPIR, generating nearly 1.5 lakh job opportunities, it added.

A range of petrochemical products, including polyethylene, polypropylene, butadiene, benzene and toluene from the refinery will be available for the downstream industries in the region. Situated nearly 9-13 km from the refinery, the first phase includes 93 industrial plots spread over 243 hectares of land.

The state government through the dialogue also sought suggestions to improve the investment ecosystem.

"New mining policy is being drafted and the suggestions of the participants are most welcome and those would be included for consideration of the state government," said the state's Mines Minister Pramod Jain Bhaya.

He said that early commencement of the work on PCPIR would give investors adequate time before operations of refinery commence next year. He said that there was some impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress of the refinery development, however, the work has now resumed at a normal pace.

Kuldeep Ranka, principal secretary to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and chairman of RIICO, highlighted the advantages for investment in the PCPIR.

During a presentation on opportunities in the petroleum sector, RIICO Managing Director Ashutosh A T Pednekar stated that India's per-capita plastic consumption at nearly 11 kg is much less than the world average of 33 kg.