Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests to begin work on the proposed petrochemicals park coming up on more than 300 acres at Ambalamugal, the property purchased from the public sector Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT).
The land and documents for the park were formally handed over to Kifnra by the District Collector last week paving the way for the government-owned consultancy and infrastructure developer to begin preparations for the project in tandem with the Union government clearance.
A detailed project report on the proposed petrochemicals park too had been submitted to the Government, Kinfra sources said. They said that of the 481 acres acquired by the State Government from FACT, 170 had been handed over to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), which was setting up a petrochemicals plant to produce polyols at Kochi refinery.
The petrochemicals park has been long in the making with the initial proposal having been made about a decade ago. The State budget 2018-19 had said that Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board would release ₹1,264 crore for land acquisition. The Centre and the Kerala Government signed an agreement for transfer of 481 acres of FACT land in 2017 and permission for the land transfer was received in July 2019.
Kinfra’s responsibilities include development of the land, and providing infrastructure like road, water and electricity for potential investors in the park.
In the meanwhile, the first unit of BPCL’s propylene derivatives petrochemical project at Kochi refinery is expected to be commissioned in about five months. The petrochemicals project has three units - acrylics, acrylic acids and oxoalcochol. Once commissioned, BPCL refinery will produce niche petrochemicals, significantly reducing India’s import dependence.
The project involves an investment of over ₹5,200 crore. The initial State Government plan was to ensure that the petrochemicals park was ready in tandem with the commissioning of the BPCL project.