Modi dedicates Assam gas cracker project to nation

Being implemented by Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer, Rs 10,000-cr project is Northeast's biggest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to the nation Northeast’s biggest industrial project, Rs 10,000 crore Assam gas cracker Project, implemented by Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL). 

It is the first ever petrochemical project in the region and is expected to generate employment for around 1 lakh people by driving in investments in downstream plastic industries.

Gail India Ltd is the main promoter of BCPL having 70% stake, while the rest 30% is equally shared by Oil India Limited (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and government of Assam.

"This gas cracker project will not only add value to the natural resource but would also generate substantial employment for the people of the region,” said Modi. 

The feedstock for the project will be natural gas and naphtha. OIL and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will supply natural gas and NRL would be supplying naphtha to BCPL. The principal end products would be High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Linear Low Density polyethylene (LLDPE) totalling 2, 20,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) and 60,000 TPA of polypropylene (PP). The other products include raw pyrolysis gasoline and fuel oil.

The project, which was originally scheduled to be commissioned in 2012, saw many delays, resulting in cost overruns. The initial cost of the project was around Rs. 5,500 crore. 

Situated at Lepetkata, in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district, and spread across 3,000 bighas of land, this project was conceived in the year 1985 as part of the historic Assam Accord, which brought an end to six-years long Assam agitation, led by students against illegal infiltration from Bangladesh.

The foundation stone of the project was laid by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April 2007. However, that was the second occasion when the foundation stone for the project was laid by a Prime Minister. The previous occasion was in 1994 when then Prime Minister PV Narishimha Rao too did the similar honours at Tengaghat in Dibrugarh district, the venue which was later abandoned.

Questioning at the inordinate delay in completing the project, Modi said: “Why should I be needed to inaugurate this project, which was conceived some 31 years back. Had this project been completed 25 years back, today’s ageing generation would have reaped benefits from this project by getting employment. But one generation has lost this opportunity due to delays.”

The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the country’s largest wax producing plant of NRL, a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum. The wax plant has an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) and came up at a cost of Rs 676 crore.