The Kochi Corporation will formally decide to hand over 20 acres to BPCL-Kochi Refinery on Friday.
The public sector petroleum company had sought 10 acres for setting up the compressed biogas (CBG) plant at the site. The company had identified the land for the project considering its proximity to the Refinery project at Ambalamugal.
The decision comes in the wake of the petroleum company moving ahead with the project. The State government had a few days ago formally cleared the detailed project report for the 150-tonne-a-day capacity plant.
The civic body may have to complete a few legal formalities before handing over the holding, which consists of reclaimed as well as dry land. The Corporation will have to cancel the lease deed made earlier with a private firm to allot the land for setting up a waste-to-energy plant. The lease agreement has to be cancelled as the State government had decided to opt for the proposal of the oil company and drop the waste-to-energy plant. A tripartite agreement between the Kochi Corporation, BPCL, and the State government will have to be signed for handing over the holding, a civic administrator said.
The civic body will not be demanding any lease amount from the company, though some discussions were held in that direction. The plant, which comes with a significant investment, will address the perennial issue of waste management in Kochi. The city will get a plant free of cost. Hence, it would not be ideal on the part of the Corporation to demand a lease amount from a public sector company, said Mayor M. Anilkumar.
The Corporation will be responsible for providing the company with biodegradable waste, besides offering land for setting up the plant. The company had sought power for setting up the plant from the State government at a subsidised rate. As any decision on offering power at a subsidised rate can be taken only with the concurrence of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, the government has assured BPCL to take a decision in consultation with the Commission, said a government source.
