Giant chemical zones under study

The Centre has finalised a plan to promote giant chemical industrial estates with world-class infrastructure and effluent treatment plants to limit the environmental impact of large chemical and petrochemical plants.

The park would be set up by private entities. The government would be the facilitator.

The government has commissioned a study to structure the project.

"We have asked Dalal Mott Mcdonald to prepare a report to find out the possible location of the park and the financial viability of the project," Pratyush Sinha, secretary of department of chemicals and petrochemicals, said.

The consultant would submit its report in a year. Project funding would come from private investors. The government would only pay for the study.

Sinha said fragmented and uneconomic capacities of chemical manufacturing facilities was a problem facing the Indian chemical industry.

"The cluster development approach helps reduce infrastructure costs and has provides linkages to suppliers and markets." Sinha said at the sidelines of the annual lecture of Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association (ICMA).

The Indian chemical industry posted annual turnover of about $ 30 billion, or 14 per cent of the manufacturing sector in value terms and 14 per cent of total exports.

The global chemical industry was worth about $1.5 trillion, or about six per cent of global GDP.

Sinha expressed the hope the first park would establish the model's viability. More parks in other parts of the country would follow, enabling Indian units to achieve economies of scale.