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Haldia Petrochemicals project to be commissioned tomorrow

Zakia Maryam in Calcutta

The Rs 51.70-billion Haldia Petrochemicals, or Haldia Petrochemicals, is all set to be commissioned on Sunday, April 2.

The dream project of the Jyoti Basu government in West Bengal, which it feels will revive its ailing economy, had started the commissioning of the Nathpa cracker unit on February 21, 2000.

Said to be the one of the largest integrated greenfield petrochemicals project in the country, Haldia Petrochemicals will feed ethylene, propylene and other chemical derivatives for further processing.

West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta described the Nathpa unit as the largest single unit at the complex.

"Nathpa is the most important part of the plant's production process. Its successful commissioning a month ago was a breakthrough and an important milestone for Haldia Petrochemicals," he said.

Though the state government has been projecting Haldia Petrochemicals as 'Destination West Bengal' for quite some time to attract foreign investors. The government had drawn flak from entrepreneurs and leading corporate houses for delaying the commissioning of Haldia Petrochemicals.

Refuting these charges Dasgupta told rediff.com, "Even going by the international standards, a minimum period of 40 months is needed to complete such project. We had started the construction at the project site on January 30, 1997 and finished it within 37 months, which is a record of sorts. Therefore, the talk of an inordinate delay doesn't really hold water."

Of the total project cost estimated at over Rs 50 billion, the sponsor equity stands about Rs 10.10 billion with the state owned West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, Chatterjee Petrochem (Mauritius) company and Tata Group investing Rs 4.33 billion, Rs 4.33 billion and Rs 1.44 billion, respectively.

The non-sponsor equity has been described as Rs 9.69 billion, which means the project has a total debt of Rs 31.91 billion.

The state government is optimistic about finding a favourable environment for the export of the Haldia Petrochemicals products in the neighbouring countries.

A WBIDC official says the project will easily be able to cater to the demands of around 209 million people, mainly in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar covering a total GDP of $ 51 billion.

"The Haldia Petrochemicals has also shortlisted Japan, the US, CIS, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Egypt, South Africa, UAE and Italy as its potential export destinations. The total sales projection in next five years has been roughly estimated at around Rs 163.34 billion, which is very good showing," says the official.

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