The West Bengal petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) has been mired in controversy ever since the project was relocated from Nandigram following protests against land acquisition that turned violent after police fired on villagers in 2007. Nayachar, the new location for the chemical hub, is a virtually uninhabited island downriver from Nandigram. Now, however, the project is facing a fresh wave of uncertainty, with Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee raising environmental concerns about Nayachar, which is under the coastal regulation zone. In an interview with Ishita Ayan Dutt, Prasoon Mukherjee, promoter of New Kolkata International Development (NKID), the 51 per cent partner with investment from the Salim group of Indonesia, in the Nayachar project (the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation or WBIDC holds the remaining shareholding), clears the air about the project and his stand.
Do you think the change in the political scenario of West Bengal after the Lok Sabha elections will have any bearing on your project at Nayachar, especially since Mamata Banerjee is opposed to it and the mandate is in her favour?
Why is there so much apprehension about the political situation? Whichever political party is in power, industrialisation will continue. And I completely agree with the stand Mamata Banerjee has adopted for Nayachar. She is not opposed to the project if we get the environmental clearance from the government. And that is very fair — after all, India is a democracy. That is my stand, too. We will only start construction at the site once we get the environmental clearance and I am very confident of getting it.
Have you applied for environmental clearance?
We have a complete environmental engineering team, which has made detailed reports. We will apply for environmental clearance with the WBIDC in 10 or 15 days. The consultant, Singapore-based Jurong Town Corporation, has given its inputs in the reports that have been prepared. The government will take 12 months for an environment impact study, since they will observe all four seasons.
What kind of investments would NKID make in the project?
Our investments in developing the infrastructure would be around Rs 10,000 crore, which includes utilities and de-salination plant. But the completed project should be Rs 4 lakh crore.
The most attractive part of the project is that it will create 100,000 jobs. The project is good for the state, it will change Medinipur.
Nayachar will not be a chemical hub, its focus is petrochemicals. It will not be hazardous. What will work best for the project is downstream industries, which will also create more jobs.
For initial feedstock, maybe the central government-owned Indian Oil Corporation pipeline at Haldia can be extended to Nayachar. We will approach the Oil & Gas Regulation Authority for this, which will solve the problem for the time being. But we need a deepwater port for very large crude carriers or VLCCs to anchor.
So NKID will build the deepwater port?
Yes, we have appointed consultants for the port. It will take six or seven years for the port to be completed.
The government of West Bengal visited Japan and Korea as part of a central government team for promoting PCPIRs recently. Any positive feedback from them?
The project has received positive feedback. But irrespective of the roadshows, the demand is manifested in the fact that around 700 applications are lying with the petrochemicals industry.
What work is currently underway for the Nayachar project?
Four different studies are being conducted: what kind of industries — upstream and downstream — can set up base, an engineering study, an environment study and a preliminary master plan.
Is Jurong likely to take a stake in the project?
We will have strategic investors at some point in time. But that will be once we have the clearances in hand.
Is any fresh land acquisition required for the project?
No fresh land acquisition is required for the PCPIR. Nayachar is government land. There are some fishermen on the island, but the government will rehabilitate them.
