BPCL Refinery Project Gets EAC Nod in Andhra

Hyderabad, Sep 7 (PTI) A committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change has accorded permission to BPCL to prepare terms of reference (ToR) for its proposed 9 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) Greenfield Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the minutes of the meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the ministry held on August 29, the project cost would be Rs 1.03 lakh crore with a completion schedule of 42 months.

Total Employment generated will be 3,400 for the Construction Phase (out of which 400 permanent and 3,000 temporary) and 3,750 Operational Phase (out of which 1250 permanent & 2500 temporary), it said.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is proposing to set up the plant at Chevuru Village, Gudlur Mandal, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore District in AP.

"EAC found the compliance status and justification satisfactory. After deliberations, the Committee recommended the project proposal for prescribing the following specific ToRs for along with public hearing in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore District, for undertaking a detailed EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) and EMP (Environmental Management Plan) study in addition to the standard ToR applicable for the project," the committee said.

The EAC 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 timeline, among others.

Total land requirement for the proposed project will be 2,109.62 hectares. No forest land will be acquired. Out of the total land required, 703.34 ha greenbelt shall be developed inside the complex, which is 33.3 per cent of the total area.

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 State Grid.

There are no National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Tiger/Elephant Reserves within 10 km distance from the project site. The Bay of Bengal is located at a distance of 3 km in the East direction. Buckingham canal is flowing 50 meters east of the refinery, the EAC said.