The Hindu
 
Mangalore/New Delhi, Jan 22: The Union Government has drawn up an ambitious plan to set up massive petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment regions along the coastal belt of the country. The first such investment hub is likely to come up during the next five years in the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) being one of the major investor.

Such investment hubs would include SEZs, free trade and warehousing zones and other existing industrial clusters.

Each of such hubs would be incorporated as special purpose vehicle headed by a CEO and would have a definite management structure.

The Mangalore SEZ will be the first such hub of the country.

ONGC investment

The ONGC would invest over Rs.35,000 crores in the Mangalore SEZ that would comprise a new refinery with a capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum, a power plant, LNG re-gasification terminal, extraction plant from re-gasified LNG and general industry, trade, banking, telecommunications and allied services for supporting the activities of units in the SEZ. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is understood to have urged the Petroleum Ministry to include the locations of Kochi and Lepetkata in Assam for such hub, according to the latest issue of Petrotech Society -- Unfolding Horizons: Hydrocarbons Vision of India.

GAIL plants

Further it states that the GAIL is in the process of setting up two petrochemical plants — a Rs. 7,000-crore unit in Kochi in Kerala and a Rs.5,200-crore unit in Lepetkata.

Officials said the hub would have special incentive package for enabling domestic and foreign enterprises to promote infrastructure services, domestic and exported production in petroleum and petrochemicals.

It would be a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environment protection mechanisms, residential areas and administrative services.

It is understood that both the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry as well as the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry are very keen on this proposal and are understood to have moved Cabinet note for consideration on the issue for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

As per the proposal, State Governments intending to set up such investment hubs would provide all infrastructure facilities like power, water, roads, sewage, effluent treatment linkages and health related infrastructure. The Union Government would make available railway, port, airports and telecom connectivity.

It is also understood that five best locations have been short-listed following serious commitment from the State Governments. These include Dahej in Gujarat, Mangalore in Karnataka, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Paradip in Orissa and Haldia in West Bengal.