Haldia Petro may get Rs 310 cr for fire losses

Haldia Petrochemicals may get Rs 310 crore insurance claim for a fire that engulfed a part of the mother plant on July 2 this year.

According to a senior insurance company executive, the plant is insured by four companies, New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India and ICICI Lombard Insurance Company.

Out of Rs 310 crore, Rs 100 crore is for loss of property while the rest, Rs 210 crore, is for loss of profit. The plant is likely to suffer 30 per cent loss of capacity because of the accident, affecting the company’s profitability in 2009-10.

Ram Prasad, general manager, General Insurance Corporation (GIC), said the reinsurer would bear a part of the total claim but did not know the exact amount to be paid. The company could not be reached for comment.

An executive of a public sector company that has insured the plant said that the exact loss because of damage to plant and machinery was not known. However, he said it could be around Rs 300 crore.

The fire had destroyed a boiler within the naphtha cracker complex and caused collateral damage.

However, no loss of life was reported when the furnace of the naphtha cracker unit caught fire. The plant is 125 km from Kolkata. The company said the plant caught fire due to apparent malfunctioning of some control systems.

The company had posted a loss in 2008-09 after reporting profits for the last five years. It posted a loss of Rs 275 crore as compared with a profit of Rs 279 crore a year ago. Its profits were affected by the 5 per cent import duty on naphtha and the global financial turmoil.