IndianOil to initiate Paradip Port Complex work
New Delhi   06-Nov-2007
Blue chip public sector oil major IndianOil will begin construction work on its 15-million-tonne refinery-cum-petrochemicals project at Paradip next month, according to IndianOil chairman Sarthak Behuria. Mr Behuria, who met chief minister Naveen Patnaik here on Monday, said that the Rs 26,000-crore project would be commissioned in 2010-11. The IndianOil chairman urged the chief minister to convert the sales tax to value addition taxes (VAT) to enable the company to avail sales tax sops for goods purchased for the project announced by the state government earlier. "The chief minister has agreed to our proposal to convert the sales tax into VAT. This year, Rs 2.000 crores has been allocated for execution or the Paradip project and we hope it will come up by 2010-11,'" Mr Beluma said.in2 out anv bottlenecks henceforth Orissa industry secretary Ashok Dalwai said the government would take steps to hnng a VAT amendment bill in the coming Winter Session of the Assembly to facilitate IndianOil's request for conversion of sales tax into VAT. In yet another significant development, the Orissa government has decided to form special purpose vehicle (SI'V), Petro Chemical Investment Region (PCIR), at Paradip. The industry secretary said the IndianOil chairman was requested to become an anchor tenant at the proposed SPV. "The state government has decided to set up a PCIR at Paradip to encourage setting up of petroleum products plants. A formal request in this regard will soon be sent to the Union government," Mr Dalwai said, adding, the IndianOil had given its nod to participate in the SPV with a 51 percent share. With this announcement, the uncertainty over execution of the jinxed project — which had been postponed and reshaped several times in the last eight years, seems to have been removed. IndianOil had put a hold put the project in mid 2005 as oil prices were soaring and it registered its first ever loss in the first quarter of 2005-2006.