Mittal's Bhatinda refinery proj to start ops by June '11

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the Rs 18,919-crore Bhatinda refinery project, being set up by the LN Mittal group, would become functional by June 2011.

Briefing reporters on the progress of the Bhatinda refinery project he said 54 per cent of the work had been completed. "It will be a historical project for the state," he added.

When asked about the concessions to be extended to the Mittal group by the state government the Chief Minister said, "the concessions sought by the company would be decided and announced in due course", adding that the project would immensely benefit the state.

"Twenty six thousand workers, which include those from Punjab have got employment at the project site, where the total spending till date has been Rs 6,400 crore. Orders for equipment and other works worth Rs 9,100 crore have been placed," he added.

He said ancillary units with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore and a 300-MW power plant would also come up in Bhatinda. The former would use poly-ethylene granules from the refinery to manufacture plastic, he said.

Badal said the state was also launching a project worth Rs 693 crore to check pollution of Sutlej river due to waste disposal into it and the Sirhind Canal, which merges with it.