Bathinda dreams big on refinery project

The setting up of the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Project (GGSRP), a joint venture between HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (also known as HMEL), at Bathinda in Punjab is likely to transform the status of Bathinda from a predominantly cotton growing belt to an upcoming industrial and business hub.

The work on the GGSRP is on full swing and according to Punjab government officials, it is likely to be completed by December 2010.

The Rs 18,900-crore refinery project, in which LN Mittal and HPCL have equity participation of 49 per cent each, is likely to spur economic activity in the area.

The proposed refinery would be spread over 2,000 acres and the pipeline would be laid to refinery from Mundra port.

This mega refinery of 9 million tonnes (mt) per annum with a captive power generation plant of 152 Mw is expected to provide tremendous employment potential.

Even before the refinery becomes operational, the real estate prices in the city have increased sharply.

This is evident from the fact that the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) recently auctioned a 4.5-acre commercial site in the city for a whopping Rs 184 crore with Delhi-based Best City Developers Pvt Ltd bagging the deal.

Going by this calculation, the price works out to Rs 84,400 per square yard.

The BDA had fixed the reserve price for this site, which has been positioned for multiplex-cum-mall, at Rs 135 crore.

The city has been witnessing a major infrastructure revolution and has already approved four multiplexes and a mall by the private players.

This apart, townships by local players as well as Delhi-based developers like Omaxe are also being planned.

With the setting up of the refinery, the region is expected to have increased scope for the development of plastics and chemicals industry.

Earlier in March, HMEL MD and CEO Prabh Das visited Punjab and assured Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that the refinery would start functioning from January 2011.

Das also informed Badal that the management of the project had decided, in principle, to set up an industrial training centre in the vicinity of the refinery to impart skills training to the local youth, to enable them to secure employment in the refinery and cater to the needs of the downstream and ancillary units based on the by-products of the project.

Das also pointed out that the management of the project was also contemplating to adopt one of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in the proximity of the refinery to run short-term as well as long-term courses on the same pattern.