Nayachar Chemical Hub: Updates

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Sukla Sen

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Sep 14, 2010, 1:34:08 AM9/14/10

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I/III.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/nkid-ropes-in-frances-air-liquide-for-pcpir-gas-network/407987/

NKID ropes in France's Air Liquide for PCPIR gas network

BS Reporter / Kolkata September 14, 2010, 0:08 IST

New Kolkata International Development (NKID) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Air Liquide of France, one of the leaders in industrial gases, for laying a pipeline in the proposed Petrochemicals, Chemicals and Petroleum Investment Region (PCPIR) at Nayachar.

“Air Liquide will create the industrial gas infrastructure for the PCPIR. An MoU has been signed with NKID,” West Bengal commerce and industry secretary, Dipankar Mukhopadhyay, said after the first PCPIR management board meeting held here today.

NKID happens to be a special purpose vehicle promoted by the Salim group of Indonesia and Prasoon Mukherjee of Universal Success.

The PCPIR will be spread over 250 square kilometers (or 62,000 acres) according to the central government norms. Of this, Haldia, which houses Haldia Petrochemicals, IOC, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, will account for about 49,000 acres while Nayachar will account for the balance.

“Nayachar will be used for an industrial project,” Mukhopadhyay reiterated today, scotching speculation about the possibility of an ecotourism park.

Of the 11,900 acres at Nayachar, 8,400 acres will be used for the PCPIR project. “There are some mangroves that will be preserved,” the industry secretary said. Earlier this year, Prasoon Mukherjee had hinted at the possibility of an ecotourism park in the coastal regulatory zone area, which he had pegged at about 6,000 acres. Mukherjee, however, chose not to speak to the media today and made a quick exit.

“Some companies in the downstream have made enquiries and the developer (NKID) has set up a subsidiary for 3 power units of 600MW each,” Mukhopadhyay said.

By the end of this month, all environmental related studies would be completed and submitted to the Pollution Control Board, which in turn will send it to the environment ministry at the Centre by the end of the year.

The state government will have to rehabilitate 600-650 fishermen families at Nayachar. “No one will be evicted, they will be given housing,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Nayachar was selected as the PCPIR site after the state government decided to shift it from Nandigram following a violent agitation against land acquisition for the project. The movement was led by the Trinamool Congress, and the party won the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency (which includes the Assembly constituencies of Haldia and Nandigram) last year by a handsome margin of 120,000 votes.

Shifting the location, however, hasn’t quite helped as the Trinamool Congress is opposed to the PCPIR project even at Nayachar.

II.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100912/jsp/business/story_12926535.jsp

Chemical hub set to seek green okay

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Sept. 11: PCR Chemicals is going to submit an application by the end of the month, seeking environment clearance for the proposed petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) on Nayachar island.

The company, a joint venture between NRI businessman Prasoon Mukherjee-led New Kolkata International Development (NKID) and the Bengal government, has appointed 13 consultants, local and international, for an environment study that will be completed by September.

“PCR Chemicals, armed with the report of the study, will then be in a position to approach the West Bengal Pollution Control Board for environment clearance,” Dipankar Mukhopadhyay, Bengal’s commerce secretary, said.

The project, which was shifted to Nayachar island near Haldia from its original location in Nandigram following political violence, has drawn flak from a section of environmentalist who claim the chemical industry could endanger the marine biology of the Hooghly river estuary.

The application will set in motion a crucial phase in the development of PCPIR, popularly known as the chemical hub in Bengal.

The secretary said around half of the area of the island, approximately 6,000 acres, can be used for the development of industry going by the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) classification.

The environment clearance, if and when it comes, will lay down the guidelines that PCR Chemicals must follow to set up industry on the island.

According to the CRZ guideline, industry can be built in CRZ-III area. No industry is allowed in CRZ-1, while light industry can come up in CRZ-II area.

Prasoon Mukherjee, director of Universal Success and majority owner of NKID, had in the past remained ambivalent about what he wanted to do at Nayachar.

Master plan

PCR Chemicals is yet to submit the master plan which will guide the industrial development on the island. The lease agreement signed between the Bengal government and PCR Chemicals had stipulated that the master plan would have to be submitted within six months.

Given that the lease was signed in November last year, the plan should have been submitted to the state by May. However, a right-to-information application made by social activist Utpal Roy revealed that the plan was yet to be ready.

Industry department officials said work on the detailed project report (DPR) is on and Tata Consulting Engineering has been entrusted with the job.

The government had given permissible possession of the land in February 2008 to PCR Chemicals and signed a lease deed for the land after 21 months.

However, the original agreement to develop a PCPIR was signed in 2006 keeping Nandigram in mind. NKID had given Rs 70 crore to WBIDC but the same was returned before the lease deed was signed in November 2009. No fresh agreement has been signed after that.

WBIDC has given 96 acres to NKID to build social infrastructure such as housing in Baruipur. It is not known if the land was provided to cross-subsidise the development cost of Nayachar.

Mukherjee could not be contacted for the report despite repeated attempts.

III.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ministry-okays-rs-154512-crore-investment-proposal-in-3-pcpirs/403731/

Ministry okays Rs 1,54,512-crore investment proposal in 3 PCPIRs

Anindita Dey / Mumbai August 6, 2010, 1:20 IST

In a major boost for investment in the petrochemical sector, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has approved a proposal of investments worth Rs 1,54,512 crore in three regions under its flagship petroleum chemicals and petrochemicals investment regions (PCPIR) policy.

Under the policy launched in 2007, this is the first status report on committed investments approved by an inter-ministerial high-powered committee last week. The investment includes Rs 44,812 crore for physical infrastructure development, and the rest is project-specific investments committed by various public and private companies in three PCPIRs — Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bharuch in Gujarat and East Midnapore in West Bengal. Investments in physical investments include a viability gap funding (VGF) by the finance ministry to the extent of 20 per cent in each PCPIR except for West Bengal. The VGF scheme provides financial support in the form of grants, one time or deferred, to infrastructure projects undertaken through public-private partnerships with a view to make them commercially viable.

Sources added the high-powered cabinet committee will take up the approval of the Paradip port PCPIR in the second week of August. The PCPIR scheme is aimed at promoting investment in the chemical and petrochemical sector so as to make India an important hub for domestic and international markets.

The ministry has also taken the initiative of organising major trade fairs in Europe and Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico to attract foreign investment sector.

“The priority for this sector is to increase capacity so that the growing demand is met with domestic output,” said an official.

The Visakhapatnam and East Godavari PCPIR has received investment commitment of around Rs 73,000 crore through its main or “anchor” investors — a consortium of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and GMR. The state government has committed Rs 2,132 crore for developing physical infrastructure followed by Rs 10,565 crore from private parties and another Rs 6,334 crore through public-private partnership. Besides the anchor investors, various companies with committed investments are ONGC (oil and gas exploration in KG basin), Rain Commodities, Continental Carbon India Ltd, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd, Velankani Chemicals, Air Liquide India, Southern Online Biotechnologies, Reliance Industries Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hetero Drugs, Baker Hughes, Gangavaram Port Ltd, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, National Thermal Power Corporation, Hinduja Power Project and Kakinada SEZ.

Similarly, the Bharuch PCPIR in Gujarat with its main anchor investor, ONGC Petro Additionals Ltd (OPAL) — a joint venture of ONGC and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation — has committed project investment of Rs 16,400 crore. The investments are for the Rs 13,000-crore multi-feed petrochemical cracker and Rs 3,400-crore carbon extraction unit. Investment in infrastructure is a combination of state government budgetary support of Rs 253 crore and public-private partnership of Rs 51,496 crore, which includes commitments of state government and private developers. Various companies which have committed investments are ONGC extraction plant, ABG Shipyard, Ruchi Petrochemicals, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd, DIC Fine Chemicals, Sajjan Speciality, Pidilite Industries, Rallis India, Lanxess India, Ginni Filament, Arcoy Biorefinery, Romano Tiles, India Peroxide and Neesa Infrastructure. The report has also stated that the total employment generation from the Gujarat PCPIR is expected to be 800,000.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the anchor investor in the West Bengal PCPIR with a committed investment of Rs 3,000 crore for expansion of its refinery and a new hydro cracker unit, Rs 1,800 crore for a coker unit and Rs 4,000 crore for a new paraxylene unit. The Spic group-controlled CALS refinery has proposed to set up a Rs 5,000-crore crude refinery complex for blending crude which is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2010. There are also grassroot refineries proposed by IOC and CALS, which will take the total investment to Rs 93,180 crore. For physical infrastructure, the Union government has also earmarked Rs 2,108 crore in its current five-year plan. The remaining Rs 15,923 crore has been committed through the state government jointly with public-private partnerships.