The Tamil Nadu government is pushing for the creation of a second Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in Ramanathapuram district of the state, in addition to the one already proposed to be set up in Cuddalore-Nagapattinam districts. It has sent a concept paper on the Ramanathapuram project to the Union chemicals and fertilisers ministry, projecting an investment inflow of Rs 90,000 crore, once the project is set up.
Speaking at the ‘India Chem 2010’ at Madurai on Saturday, Bijoy Chatterjee, secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, confirmed the receipt of the first proposal and the concept paper for the second.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers MK Alagiri said PCPIRs had been set up in West Bengal and Gujarat, and that efforts were being made to set up these in Tamil Nadu and Orissa also. He pointed out that PCPIRs would create around 3 million jobs.
The government has identified six sites across the country for the development of the PCPIRs. These are Paradip in Orissa, Haldia-Nayachar in West Bengal, Dahej in Gujarat, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Mangalore in Karnataka and Cuddalore-Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.
The minister said the first PCPIR project in the state along the coastal stretches in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts was on track. State government officials said up to Rs 15,000 crore was needed to create support infrastructure, such as roads, power and water, for a PCPIR in Ramanathapuram.
A petroleum refinery project being implemented by Nagarjuna Oil Corporation, a joint venture of Tidco and Nagarjuna group, will be one of the anchor units in the Cuddalore-Nagapattinam PCPIR. The Nagarjuna refinery will go on stream in 2011, sources said.
For the proposed PCPIR in Ramanathapuram, an area of about 25,783 hectares along the coastal stretch of Thiruvadanai taluk has been identified by the district administration. It is on the western side of the East Coast Road, which runs along the sea coast adjoining Palk Bay. The area stretches for about 45km North - South and the width is between 2.50km and 7.50km.
A PCPIR is a specifically delineated region, with an area of 250 sq km, for the establishment of manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production in petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals, as well as the associated services and infrastructure. It would be a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection mechanisms and residential areas. Each PCPIR would have a refinery/petrochemical feedstock company as an anchor tenant.
The internal infrastructure of the PCPIR will be built and managed by a developer or a group of co-developers.
