In Rajasthan, the state government and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) signed an agreement for the Rs 43,129 crore Barmer refinery in the presence of Union Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in a ceremony held in Jaipur.
On the occasion Mr. Pradhan said that the refinery would be completed within next four years and for that period around Rs 70 thousand crore will be invested in the refinery. He also charged the previous Congress government in the state that it had launched the refinery project earlier without calculating financial management of the government and just launched before assembly election for political gain.
Barmer refinery will be the first in the country to produce BS-6 standard fuel. The state government will have 26% stake in the project while rest will be held by HPCL. The government has made 4800 acre land available at Pachpadra for the project. Mr. Pradhan said that the agreement will save around Rs 2514 crore annually.
He hoped after the setting up of the refinery and petro chemical complex in Barmer, the investors from around the world will invest here and a large number of employments would be generated. On the occasion Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that this is the biggest investment in the state for industrial development. She hoped that the refinery will be the mile stone in the area of the development in the state.