By IANS
New Delhi : State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has decided to go slow on its Rs.62-billion ($1.6 billion) refinery project at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh till its Bina refinery project in Madhya Pradesh is commissioned.
“BPCL has its entire attention focussed on completing the Bina refinery project and does not want to be distracted,” a top company official told IANS.
The state-owned petroleum firm has proposed to build a seven million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity refinery with an estimated investment of Rs.62 billion at Allahabad to meet the growing demand for petroleum products in the northern region, especially in Uttar Pradesh.
Work to get the Bina refinery ready is going ahead and BPCL expects to commission this project by December 2009, the official said.
BPCL is implementing the Bina refinery project through a joint venture company, Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL). BPCL holds the majority share in BORL.
It is the first refining project being implemented by BPCL in partnership with a private player.
The Bina refinery has won key fiscal sops including deferment of local sales tax to the extent of Rs.2.5 billion per annum and waiver of central sales tax for 15 years.