Nagpur most suitable for petrochemical complex: Gadkari

Feb 21,2022

Adding a feather to the cap of Union Minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari’s numerous achievements, he has now pitched for the establishment of a refinery and petro-chemical complex (RPC) project in Vidarbha which was planned in Rajapur, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, but has been stalled for various reasons. In the meantime, the State Government’s decision is awaited by the Petroleum Ministry. However, uncertain of the time such a decision would take, Gadkari regarded Nagpur as a preferred location for the said project. His recent communication with Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri this month, highlights advantages of the project being shifted to Nagpur so that the Petroleum Minister too has assured that the RPC project can be established at Nagpur if land is made available at a suitable location near Nagpur, the centre of India, which is well connected with rail, road and air. Such projects need huge parcels of land and Butibori MIDC, which is a five-star MIDC in Maharashtra, has thousands of acres of land available along with all major facilities, felt Gadkari.
 
The national highways can be used as ‘Rights of the Way’ (ROW) for laying product distribution pipeline. Gadkari also stated in his letter about the dry-port at Sindi in Wardha district, which has been developed by his ministry, and which would get maximum business from petrochemicals. The Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED) had earlier requested the State Government to take up this project with the Government of India and set it up in Nagpur. In keeping with Gadkari’s statements of land requirement for this mega-project, VED had stressed that since more than 2,500 acres of vacant land are available in Butibori Phase II, it is easy for the Government of Maharashtra to take the lead and ensure that this project is set up here to trigger industrial development in MIDC. In this context, a VED delegation on June 29, 2021 to New Delhi, had met Dharmendra Pradhan, then Minister heading the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and requested him for a techno-economic feasibility study for the setting up of this Refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Vidarbha. Convinced about the project through the talks and PPT, he immediately agreed to initiate the feasibility study for the petrochemical project. Soon after the meeting, the portfolio underwent a change and the Ministry of Petrochemical and Natural Gas came to be headed by Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with whom VED has been trying for the initiating of the techno-feasibility study.
 
According to the study made by VED, it would be feasible to bring this complex to Vidarbha, which would bring with it several benefits for many industries in the form of their medium for procurement of raw materials right here which are the products of such a complex; in addition, many products would be manufactured here too. This would go a long way in the development of this region and be a big leap in the industrialisation of Vidarbha. VED’s dream of the development of this region may be inching towards reality.