By IANS
New Delhi : The government Tuesday launched a new policy to encourage the setting up of integrated petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical hubs in the country with each project expected to attract around $8.5 billion in investment.
Called the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions, or PCPIR, Policy, the new initiative is aimed at projects in oil refining, fertilisers, chemicals, crackers and pharmaceuticals, as also infrastructure for the same.
"The PCPIR policy has been launched to promote investments and make the country an important hub for domestic and international markets," Chemicals, Fertilisers and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told a press conference here.
"The policy would give a thrust to industrialisation in these regions by way of setting up of downstream units, and in turn leading to the development of socio-economic infrastructure in the areas in and around the regions," he said.
"Each of these PCPIRs is expected to attract Rs.350-Rs.400 billion," he said and added that each project would cover an area of around 250 sq. km. with a minimum processing area of 100 sq. km.
The processing area will have manufacturing facilities and associated logistics, services and infrastructure, as also a non-processing area for residential areas, commercial complexes and other social and institutional infrastructure.
The PCPIR may include one or more special economic zones, industrial parks, free trade and warehousing zones, export oriented units, as also growth centres, that are duly notified under the relevant central or state legislation or policy.
"It will be my government's effort to ensure that the land owner gets his due and the process of land transfer is beneficial to all the stakeholders," the minister said.
But he cautioned that since the provision of infrastructure and utility linkages was a state subject, the state governments will have to ensure rehabilitation of families displaced from there is done in a humane manner.
Chemicals and Petrochemicals Secretary Satwant Reddy said the new policy was not based on tax sops but was infrastructure-driven to spur growth at selected locations while taking care of economies of scale and synergy to make them cost-effective.
Paswan said the government was in the process of receiving proposals and has yet to decide where the first such project will come up.