West Bengal grants 'permissible possession' to chem zone

The West Bengal government today gave "permissible possession" to PCR Chemicals, a joint venture between NKID and the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), of Nayachar, the proposed location for the PCPIR.

State commerce and industry minister, Nirupam Sen, said, the permissible possession would enable the company to conduct necessary survey.

The possession was being given to PCR Chemicals, where WBIDC has a 49 per cent stake and NKID 51 per cent.

NKID is a special purpose vehicle, promoted by the Salim group of Indonesia, Universal Success group and Unitech.

Prasoon Mukherjee, a director of PCR Chemicals said, various tests would now be done on the soil.

However, there was no timeline for the project though Mukherjee pointed out that the PwC report had indicated a 25-year timeline for the project.

The feasibility study would be done by the joint venture company and Singapore-based Jurong Town Corporation had been roped in as consultants.

Sen said, Nayachar would be the processing area for the PCPIR and was spread over an area of 54 square km or 12,000-13,000 acres. "Experts believe that another 10,000-12,000 acres can be reclaimed," he added.

However, the West Bengal governments plans to connect it to Haldia, and make the existing petrochemical units a part of the PCPIR.

Sen explained, according to the PCPIR norms, once the total area of the investment region would have to be 250 square km and 40 per cent of the area would be dedicated for processing. Nayachar would be just the processing area.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that he had requested the Union chemicals and fertilizers minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, for some more time. "They are waiting for our final report," he said. The West Bengal government had responded to clarifications sought by the Union ministry twice.