Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) proposed between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada envisaging an investment of ₹3.43 lakh crore in a span of five to seven years is facing uncertain future with no anchor tenants coming forward to set up the projects.
Public hearing
The project, which is being opposed by a section of farmers and local residents fearing pollution by the project proponents, was conceived during the UPA regime. Union Minister for Petroleum and Chemicals Dharmendra Pradhan, during his recent visit to Visakhapatnam, told The Hindu that they were having a re-look at the PCPIR policy.
A public hearing on the project, for which a special development authority coordinated by the VUDA finalised the master plan, had been scheduled for December 2014, and was put off following the intervention of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in response to the criticism over the “hastily held hearing.”
Even as the PCPIR is in the advanced stage of implementation in other States, the anchor tenants proposed in the Visakhapatnam and Kakinada region have backed out due to some reason or the other.
For instance, the HPCL had been allotted 1,500 acres by the A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation at Atchutapuram, but the allotment was cancelled as the ‘maharatna’ company failed to start work within the stipulated time.
Watya India Consortium, a Kuwait-based consortium, had come forward to invest $2 billion in the first phase of an oil refinery complex near Parawada, but it ran into problem before grounding work on the project. The 10 million tonne LNG terminal, for which Petronet LNG Limited had obtained the environmental clearance for an investment of ₹9,000 crore at Gangavaram Port, had been shelved.
According to sources, the only project that is taking shape is the expansion of Visakh Refinery from 8.3 million tonne to 15 million tonne, by the HPCL at a cost of ₹20,000 crore.
A petrochemical complex by the Reliance Industries Ltd. and the BP is proposed in the KG Basin, but the joint venture is yet to finalise the location.
Doubts over corridor
There are also reports that the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, for which the Asian Development Bank is extending its expertise, is being made part of the Kolkata-Kanyakumari East Coast Economic Corridor.
