Banerjee: Power-packed

Bhubaneswar, Dec 16: GAIL India Ltd today announced a slew of projects that it wants to set up in co-operation with the Orissa government and two other companies. The projects include a petrochemical complex, a gas pipeline, a coal gassification unit and a 1000 megawatt gas-based power plant.

Except for the 1200-km long Kakinada-Haldia pipeline project, the Orissa government will be a joint venture partner in all the other projects, GAIL chairman Proshanto Banerjee said this evening.

According to Banerjee, total investment will be around Rs 15000 crore. The gas pipeline, 500 km of which will pass through Orissa, would cost GAIL Rs 3800 crore, he said.

Banerjee today met chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat and unveiled his blueprint for the “energy co-operation” scheme.

Banerjee told Patnaik that GAIL would build a gas-based petrochemical complex at a cost of Rs 5000-6000 crore, a Rs 2000-crore coal gassification plant and a Rs 4000 crore gas-based power plant in the state and Orissa can have a token equity participation. The debt-equity ratio of these projects would be 70:30, Banerjee said.

Under the energy co-operation scheme, two more private companies are likely to partner Orissa government and GAIL to build the petrochemical complex, gassification plant and power plant.

The GAIL chairman said his company was yet to finalise its other two partners for the energy cooperation scheme. “The company would sign the agreement with the state government in January after the feasibility study of the projects are over,” he said.

A task force would be constituted to examine the feasibility of such a project. GAIL is still in the process of identifying the sites for these new projects.

The coal gassification plant would generate gas for domestic consumption in Orissa. The gas would be used in fertiliser plants as well as for power production.

Coal would be provided by Coal India Ltd, with which GAIL has signed an agreement. The 1000-megawatt gas-based power plant would come in handy for the upcoming steel units as such energy is cheaper.