The government has given green signal to Haldia Petrochemicals to make an invest of Rs 28,700 corer for setting up an integrated refinery and petrochemicals facility in Balasore. The government will allot state-owned land and consider fiscal concessions for the project, a state government official said. “They (Haldia Petrochemicals) have sought certain concessions. We are setting up a panel to examine that,” the official said. The government, however, will not take any equity in the project. Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) will invest Rs 28,700 crore in the first phase of the project that would entail a total investment of Rs 70,000 crore, the official said. The first phase is expected to be completed in five years. With this, we would have a big presence in oil and petrochemicals. We would be on the east coast what Gujarat is on the west coast,” the official said. “We are trying to reduce our dependence on minerals and metals.”
