Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan declared ‘Day zero’ for the $44-billion Ratnagiri refinery project on Thursday and promised that the refinery would be ready by 2022.
The declaration was made even as the Shiv Sena, the BJP’s partner in the State government, has vowed to prevent the construction from going ahead.
Mr. Pradhan, who was in Mumbai to attend a roadshow as part of a gas distribution bidding round, held separate meetings with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and stakeholders of the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited.
Mr. Pradhan said, “Today is zero day. I had a positive meeting with the Chief Minister, his officers, my officers and all the stake holders. I have total clarity on how the project will go ahead. Today is the zero date as certain aspects fall in the pre-project period. Land has to be acquired, then there is the question of technology, financial closure. In all these aspects, things are moving in the positive direction.”
When asked if he would be interested in meeting Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and changing his mind about the project, Mr. Pradhan said, “Certainly, I would like to do that.” Mr. Pradhan said that the Ratanagiri project would be the largest refinery not only in the country but also in the world. He said in the next 20 years, India’s CAGR growth of energy consumption would be 4.2%.
He said, “The refinery was conceptualised to meet India’s growing energy demand. We are satisfied with the cooperation of the Maharashtra government. There are some misconceptions and we are willing to talk to all those opposing the project.”
Mr. Fadnavis also assured that he would have a dialogue with all those opposing the project. He said, “I believe that this project will drive Maharashtra’s economy and take India’s energy security forward. The refinery will not be imposed on the people of Maharashtra. We will talk with people, convince them and take the project forward.”
B Ashok, CEO, RRPCL, said, “Financial closure of the refinery will happen only after land acquisition.” HPCL, BPCL and Indian Oil will have 50% stake in the refinery, while the remaining 50% will be shared by Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
