The greenfield refinery cum petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in the Barmer district of Rajasthan has reached 60 per cent completion.
A joint venture company HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Government of Rajasthan have a stake of 74 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.
The project was formulated in 2008 and was initially approved in 2013. It was reconfigured and work started in 2018.
HRRL will process 9 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) of crude and produce more than 2.4 million tons of petrochemicals which will reduce import bills on account of petrochemicals.
“This project will act as an anchor industry for industrial hubs not only for the western Rajasthan but also will steer India to its vision of achieving 450 MMTPA refining capacity by 2030,” Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S Puri said.
“Barmer refinery will be the Jewel of the Desert, bringing jobs, opportunities and joy to the people of Rajasthan,” he added.
The current import bill is Rs 95,000 crore, and the complex post-commission will reduce the import bill by Rs 26,000 crore. Furthermore, the refinery’s exports of products worth approximately Rs 12,250 crore will earn valuable foreign exchange.
The minister stated that underlining the socioeconomic benefits of the project in terms of employment generation and infrastructure development. The project has engaged about 35,000 workers in and around the complex. Further, about 1,00,000 workers are engaged indirectly.
In the Pachpadra Tehsil of the Barmer district in Rajasthan, the project site spans 4,812 acres and includes the villages of Sajjiyali, Roopji, Kanthavad, and Sambhara.
The refinery project would boost the growth of important downstream industries such as chemical, petrochemical, and plant equipment manufacturing.
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