AP Govt Allots Land to BPCL for Refinery

Amaravati, Oct 9 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Government has issued orders allotting 6,000 acres of land situated near Ramayyapatnam Port in Nellore District on a cost basis, to BPCL Ltd for setting up 9 to 12 MMTPA Greenfield Refinery cum Petrochemical Complex, which envisages an investment of about Rs 1 lakh crore.

The state government order gave in-principle approval of total financial incentives to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, up to 75 per cent of the capital expenditure over a period of 20 years from the commencement of project activities, for the ultra-mega project of more than 96,000 crore under tailor-made incentives provisions.

The BPCL is expected to invest Rs 4,843 crore during the current financial year and Rs 9,686 crore next year. It will be investing Rs 14,529 crore in 2027-28, Rs 29,059 crore in 2028-29 and Rs 38,745 crore in FY30, totalling Rs 96,862 crore investment, according to the government order.

The public sector enterprise will get a capital subsidy of 43.5 per cent in 15 instalments, 100 per cent GST refund for the operational phase, refund of SGST (including ineligible) and state share in IGST/CGST during construction and a waiver of 100 per cent stamp duty and registration fees.

"BPCL shall be requested to complete all phases of the project and start the commercial operations of this project by January 2029…Being an ultra-mega investment, the project shall be monitored through a High Level Committee consisting of all the stakeholder departments, on a regular basis," the GO issued on October 7 said.

While seeking permission to prepare Terms of Reference from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, BPCL said the 9 Million Metric Tons Per Annum (MMTPA) project's cost would be Rs 1.03 lakh crore with a completion schedule of 42 months.

Total Employment generated will be 3,400 during the construction phase (out of which 400 would be permanent and 3,000 temporary) and 3,750 operational phase (out of which 1,250 permanent & 2,500 temporary), it said.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the ministry asked the petroleum major to conduct a public hearing and prepare a report with details of proceedings duly signed by the presiding officer, attendance sheets, action plan to address the issues raised during public hearing along with budget allocation and time line, among others.

The total power requirement of the proposed refinery cum petrochemical complex will be 600 MW, out of which 100 MW will be generated through in-house captive power plant and remaining 500 MW shall be met through the state grid.