By IANS
New Delhi : Thanking the Indian government for speedy clearance of his group's joint refinery project in Punjab, London-based steel mogul L.N. Mittal Wednesday injected Rs.5 billion ($120 million) in the company that would set up the $4.6 billion venture.
Mittal Energy Investments, an L.N. Mittal company, and the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will each hold 49 percent equity in the nine million tonne per annum Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Bathinda.
Financial institutions will hold the remaining two percent.
"I must admit the government approval has been extremely quick. We signed the joint venture in March 2007. And by June 2007, the approval had been granted," Mittal said at an event to hand over the cheque for the project.
"The speedy approval reinforces the seriousness of the government to attract foreign direct investment and clearly highlights the change in approach adopted by this ministry under your able leadership," Mittal told Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.
"I am happy that now the work will commence in full earnest for building the first refinery in Punjab. It is the single largest investment, about Rs.190 billion, at any location in Punjab," Deora said.
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal also joined the event later.
The government had approved the Bathinda project in 2000, stipulating that HPCL would induct a partner. But expressions of interest from 17 global firms did not yield positive results and a pact with the Mittals was signed earlier this year.
Besides the refinery, the project includes a 1,000 km oil pipeline from Mundra and a crude oil terminal there.
"The refinery itself will be a world-class, state-of-the-art project which will incorporate the latest technologies, enabling it to exceed the current specifications available in the country," Mittal said.
"This is the first ever investment of such a huge nature in Punjab. We expect the project to be completed in four years. It will have a huge impact on the state's development. This is a revolutionary step," said Badal.