Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers H.N. Ananth Kumar said here on Saturday that the Union government is keen on setting up a PCPIR (petroleum, chemicals, and petrochemicals investment region) in Mangaluru.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the ‘Krishi Yantra Mela’, the Minister said that the government has proposed to set up PCPIR in four cities in the country with an investment of Rs. 10.5 lakh crore.
Those cities are Paradip in Odisha, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Dahej in Gujarat. It would provide employment to 37 lakh people.
Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, said that the PCPIR could be set up on 2,000 acres already acquired for the Mangaluru Special Economic Zone. He said that there was no need to acquire additional land for the region.
Mr. Kumar said that the Gas Authority of India’s pipeline from Kochi to Mangaluru would be laid in the next two-and-half years. The Kerala government has agreed to part with land for laying the pipeline, he said.