Bathinda oil refinery to attract Rs 1,300 Cr in Punjab

BATHINDA : HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) today said the ambitious 9-million tonnes Bathinda oil refinery would attract an investment of Rs 1,300 crore in Polypropylene based downstream industry in the state. "We think that after the completion of refinery, there will be an investment of Rs 1,300 crore in downstream industry in the state," HMEL Chief Executive Officer Prabh Das told reporters here. Bathinda refinery will be one of the few refineries in the country, which will have the capacity to produce 4.40 lakh tonnes of polypropylene, an official said while adding that currently polypropylene granules are produced in Gujarat and Maharashtra. With Ludhiana, Bathinda, Banur and Lalru being seen as most attractive locations for setting up polypropylene-based industry, about 50 per cent of the total produce would be consumed by the state itself, he said. He added that polypropylene granules are mainly used by plastic industry such as woven sack and film units as main raw material in manufacturing of plastic items like buckets, mugs, toys, plastic furniture, wrapping films, woven sack bags for cement and food grains. Das said the Rs 18,919-crore oil refinery is expected to be commissioned by June next year. "An investment of Rs 13,700 crore has already been made in the oil refinery," he said.