Hanwha Chemical keen to invest $900 million in Odisha PCPIR

Seoul-based Hanwha Chemical Corporation, a petrochemical company specialising in plastic and inorganic chemical products, has evinced interest to put up units at the PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals & Petrochemicals Investment Region) complex in Odisha.

The South Korean company is yet to make a formal proposal to the state government here. But, official sources said, investments by Hanwha Chemical could run into $900 million (or Rs 58.57 billion).

Officials from Hanwha Chemical recently did a recce of the PCPIR site in Odisha near Paradip. The site visit was facilitated by officers from Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco), the state run agency for land acquisition and industrial infrastructure development.

“The company has asked for 200 acres of land within the PCPIR zone. Their investment would be a big boost as it would spur other companies to come and invest”, said a state government official.

Founded in 1965, Hanwha Chemical Corporation (known as Hanwha Petrochemical Company then) pioneered the production of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) in Korea. Its products include low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, and wire and cable compounds. The company also provides PVC resins, paste resins, plasticizers, oxo alcohol, and phthalic/maleic anhydride for applications in industrial materials, such as artificial leather, pipes, flooring materials, and paints, as well as household items, including various containers, packaging films, toys, fibres, wallpapers, and others. In addition, it offers caustic soda, chlorine, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomers, epichlorohydrin, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hypochlorite for use in solar cells, detergents, and food production, as well as fibre, metal, and paper manufacturing.

Hanwha’s interest follows the roadshow by the Odisha government at the India-Korea Business summit in February this year. At the conclave, Odisha’s principal secretary (industries) Sanjeev Chopra had solicited Korean investments for the PCPIR. He said, the PCPIR at Paradip offers multiple strategic advantages such as easy availability of raw material for chemical and petrochemical downstream industries, sufficient port capacity to import feedstock, industry-ready labour pool, competitive power tariff, water availability.

Notably, Chemicals, Plastics & Petrochemicals is also one of the focus sectors in the Odisha Industrial Development Plan: Vision 2025. With an investment of Rs 136.43 billion and spread over an area of 284 square km with 123 square km of processing area exclusively for industrial and associated development, PCPIR at Paradip offers fully developed ecosystem comprising fertilizer units, manufacturing units and large availability of feedstock.

India’s biggest state-owned oil and gas corporation, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is the anchor tenant with 15 million tonnes per annum refinery under operation while other major companies present in the region are Indian Farmers’ Fertilisers’ Cooperative Organisation (Iffco), Paradip Phosphates, Skol Breweries and Essar to name a few.

As the anchor tenant of the PCPIR, IOCL has sunk in Rs 350 billion on a 15 million tonne crude oil refinery. The refinery is positioned to offer feedstock to downstream industries in chemicals and petrochemicals. The oil major had pledged to invest Rs 517.79 billion more to commission various units of its planned petrochemical complex.