By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, December 13, 2018: Undue delay in allotment of land to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for putting up various petrochemical projects in Odisha has prompted Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to dash off a letter to chief minister, Naveen Patnaik to speed up the matter.

The proposed investment by IOCL is not getting timely response and cooperation, Pradhan said in the letter describing the attitude of the state government as ‘unfortunate and discouraging’.

“IOCL, which has offered to invest in various petrochemical projects is not getting timely response and cooperation”, wrote the Union minister.

Mr Pradhan said the state government has not provided additional 2,290 acres of land at Paradip for petrochemicals/speciality units and refinery expansion from 15 to 25 MMTPA even though application for the land was made in February 2017.

The Odisha government, he said, has conducted road shows in several countries about the upcoming Petrochemical projects in the state and invited potential investors in plastic and textile industry to invest in the state. Yet it has not allotted required land for the implementation of the projects, he added.

Similarly, application seeking additional 800 acres of land at Paradip for pet coke gasification project has been pending with the state government since July last.

He also mentioned in the letter about planning by Taiwan’s state-owned petroleum firm CPC Corporation’s plan to invest Rs 430 billion for green-field petrochemical projects in Paradip.

Pointing out that the proposed investments by CPC and Indian Oil would not only contribute to the state’s economy but also lead to direct and indirect employment generation for the youths of the state, Pradhan requested the chief minister to direct the concerned authorities suitably in this regard.

IOCL is in the process of finalising Rs 400 billion of investments in new projects in Odisha such as PC (polypropylene complex)/PTA (purified terephthalic acid) project, petcoke gasification based projects and refinery capacity expansion project from 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 25 mtpa at Paradip. Besides, IOCL is also participating in the textile park proposed at Bhadrak.