Jaipur: The Rajasthan refinery in Pachpadra, Barmer is expected to start commercial production before December 2024. As per the officials of the project, about 80 per cent of the construction work of the refinery units has been completed.
Not just for Rajasthan but for entire India
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot reviewed the project on his visit to Barmer and said that Pachpadra Refinery is an ambitious project not only for Rajasthan but for the entire country.
Gehlot: Refinery will become a hub of petroleum-based industries
"Rajasthan Refinery is the first such Refinery where a Petro-Chemical Complex will be developed simultaneously for the manufacture of petroleum by-products along with oil refining. With this project, Rajasthan will become a hub of petroleum-based industries," said Gehlot to the media after the review meeting of the project.
HPCL & HRRL joint venture
The refinery is a joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Co. Ltd. (HPCL) and the Rajasthan government under the name of HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL). Gehlot sanctioned ₹ 2,583 crore towards the 26 per cent stake of the state government in the incremental share capital of HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited.
Gehlot said that with the commencement of commercial production before December 31, 2024, the pace of development will increase. A big dream of the people of the western region will come true with Rajasthan Refinery, he added.
The foundation stone of the refinery was laid down by the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in 2013 but was delayed by the previous BJP government that relaunched the project in December 2017 with a new set of agreements with HPCL at almost double the cost due to delay.
Project cost escalation
Pointing out this cost escalation, Gehlot said that in 2013, it was a project worth ₹37,229 crore, in 2017 the cost escalated to ₹43,129 crore and now it is more than ₹72,937 crore. "Despite this it is a pleasure to see that due to the efforts of our government, the project has now gained momentum," he said.
Six lane road for refinery
Demanding a six-lane road for the refinery, Gehlot said that in order to speed up the refinery project, the Central Government should construct a 6-lane road from Jodhpur to Pachpadra and Barmer and connect it to Amritsar-Jamnagar (Bharatmala Project).
The Chief Executive Officer of HPCL said that the target has been set to complete the mechanical work by May 2024.
