Oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has identified Gopalpur Industrial Park of Tata Steel as a possible site for setting up a common user facility in Berhampur. Tata Steel is the anchor tenant for the park where it has invested Rs 542 crore on a ferrochrome project with an annual capacity of 55,000 tonnes per annum.
"We have sought land from the state government for setting up a common user facility in Berhampur. The government has requested us to take land at the Gopalpur industrial park of Tata Steel for which we have done a feasibility study. But, no decision has been taken yet as more sites are also being explored", said an IOCL official.
IOCL requires about 100 acres of land for the common user facility proposed for the supply of kerosene, diesel and petrol. The capacity is envisaged at 77,000-kilolitres and will see an investment of Rs 350 crore.
The facility is planned to keep in mind IOCL's underground cross-country pipeline of 1150 km length from its Paradip refinery to Hyderabad.
IOCL has recently got the nod of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Odisha for the 330-km pipeline passing through Odisha. The pipeline will be used for transportation of petroleum products like high-speed diesel, motor spirits, and superior kerosene oil and aviation turbine fuel of 4.5 million tonnes per annum. The project cost in the state alone is pegged at Rs 983 crore.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation( HPCL) will also use the facility for supply of their products.
The proposal of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd to set up the common user facility for storage of petroleum products at Berhampur in Ganjam has already received the approval of the state government.
Tata Steel did not respond to queries on the common user facility. A questionnaire sent by e-mail remained unanswered.
Tata Steel's industrial park at Gopalpur is spread over 2970 acres. Of this, 1235 acres is notified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The steelmaker, through its fully owned subsidiary Tata Steel SEZ Ltd (TSSL), intends to develop the residual land as a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). Since investments for the SEZ had not taken off, TSSL aimed to develop the DTA concomitantly to accelerate investments.
For the SEZ notified area, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BS Minerals for a manufacturing unit on two acres. In the non-SEZ patch, other than Tata Steel's ferrochrome plant, Sure Safety Solutions has put up a unit over five acres for aerial manufacturing targets.
TSSL has been intensifying efforts to lure investors for the industrial park which has potential to attract investments of the order of Rs 20,000 crore. The steel company has staged road shows in both overseas and domestic locations to pull investors.