Centre, Maharashtra agree on mega refinery in Konkan region

MIDC will complete 15,000 acres of land in Guhagar and hand it over to SPV

The Centre and the Maharashtra government have arrived at a consensus on the development of a mega refinery and petrochemical complex in the Konkan region.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week conveyed to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan the state government’s desire to join the project. The ministry and the state government have zeroed in on Guhagar, in the coastal district of Ratnagiri, for the mega refinery.

The 60-million-tonne-per-annum (mtpa) refinery project entails an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore. It is being developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. Oil marketing companies (OMCs) may jointly hold 51 per cent and the balance stake may go to the state government and a strategic investor.

Fadnavis tweeted: “For the Ratnagiri refinery, the petroleum ministry has identified some land and the details will be finalised in one month. A meeting between the officials of the government of India and the Maharashtra government will be soon held.”

State industries department officer told Business Standard, “The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has conveyed to the state government that 15,000 acres is needed for the mega refinery project. The state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has identified land in Guhagar taluka of Ratnagiri district. Most of the land is barren and not fallow, while some stretch is under farming. MIDC will complete the land acquisition and hand it over to the SPV.”

Considering the price or an acre at Rs 10 lakh, the SPV’s outgo towards land acquisition was expected to be Rs 1,500 crore.  According to the officer, representatives of the OMCs and Engineers India  have visited Guhagar and conducted a survey of the project site at Guhagar.