Nitin Gadkari pitches for Ratnagiri petrochemical project in Vidarbha

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has pitched for the establishment of a refinery and petro chemical complex project in Vidarbha region which was planned in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and is stalled

Union minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari has pitched for the establishment of a refinery and petro chemical complex (RPC) project in Vidarbha region which was planned in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and is stalled for various reasons.

Gadkari has written a letter to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on February 14 highlighting advantages of the project being shifted to Nagpur.

Gadkari said that the petroleum minister during his meeting in New Delhi has assured that the RPC project can be established at Nagpur if land is made available at suitable location near the city.

He further said that he had been informed that the Government of Maharashtra has been asked to communicate its stand on availability of land for the planned project at Rajapur, Ratnagiri. The decision of the Maharashtra government is awaited by the petroleum ministry.

"It is uncertain how much time it would take. In such a situation I would like to propose to prefer Nagpur for the said project. The city which is located at zero mile of the country is well connected with rail, road and air. Along with this, I would like to reiterate some other positive things for selecting Nagpur," said Gadkari.

He further said that such projects need huge lands and Butibori MIDC, which is a five star MIDC in Maharashtra has thousands of acres of land available along with all major facilities. The national highways can be used as Rights of the Way (ROW) for laying product distribution pipeline.

Gadkari also stated in his letter about the dry port at Sindi in Wardha district which has been developed by his ministry.

The dry port can get maximum business from petrochemical complex to ensure both way logistic.