HYDERABAD: The state government has agreed to offer a special package to Hyderabad-based Amerind Petroleum Private Limited to establish a petroleum refinery project at a cost of Rs 11,136 crore in the PCPIR (Petro Chemical Petroleum Investment Region) industrial zone between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Amerind chairman Syed Badruddin and commissioner of industries R Karikal Valaven in the presence of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the Secretariat on Thursday. The chief minister thanked Amerind Petroleum Corporation for locating the refinery in Andhra Pradesh, and assured them that the state government would try its best to help the company start its operations immediately.He said that Andhra Pradesh has many advantages, including a long coastline and natural resources, and that the government provides good infrastructural facilities.The refinery project is expected to contribute over Rs 15,544 crore annually by way of excise, sales tax, state surcharge to the state and Central governments.Out of this, sales tax and state surcharge payable to the state government works out to more than Rs 7,122 crore annually. Later briefing the details of the refinery project to newsmen, major industries minister J Geeta Reddy said that the project, first to be set up in the PCPIR region (total five in India), would be set up on a turnkey basis in joint technical collaboration with the US-based American Industrial Corporation (AIC).The initial refining capacity is to process 7.5 million tonnes of crude oil per annum (1.5 lakh barrels per day).In the first phase, the American technical collaborator will relocate an existing and running refinery acquired by the AIC in USA at a very low cost estimated at Rs 2,525 crore (US $ 505 million).The project, in its second phase, will be expanded to a total refining capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum along with an additional project of petro chemicals complex costing about Rs 8,611 crore.The refinery will have its own captive floating marine terminal with three under water pipelines to receive imported crude oil and to dispatch products for exports, she explained.Answering to a query, the minister said that the state government will extend incentives to Amerind in accordance with the industrial promotion policy.Special package will also be considered as it is a mega project.Time-bound industrial clearances and approvals through single window clearance and to initially help the company to have marketing tie-up support with public sector oil companies like IOCL and BPCL.The company has requested for 700 acres of land under first phase, and it would be procured through APIIC in the PCPIR region, she added.On this occasion, Badruddin said that the project would be implemented in 30 to 36 months once it gets all clearances from the state and Central governments.Amerind proposes to go in for a public issue (IPO) in India after commencement of the commercial production, he added.The refinery also plans to set up 3,500 retail outlets to market its products over a period of three to five years from the date of commencement of commercial production and will be able to provide direct employment to about 55,000 persons, he said.
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