Central committee to visit Maha soon to choose site for refinery project: Minister

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has pitched for the establishment of the RPC in Vidarbha, as the project, which was earlier planned in Ratnagiri, was getting stalled due to various reasons.

Nagpur: Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai on Saturday said the Central government and Aramco will decide on the location for setting up the Refinery and Petro Chemical Complex (RPC) in the state and a committee will soon visit the state to select the site. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has pitched for the establishment of the RPC in Vidarbha, as the project, which was earlier planned in Ratnagiri, was getting stalled due to various reasons. In a series of letters to the Union Ministry of Petroleum, Gadkari highlighted the advantages of shifting the project to Nagpur.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Desai said that the state government is responsible for providing the land and basic necessities for the project. The investor in this project is Aramco and the Central government is the promoter. The decision cannot be taken by the state government alone, he said. The decision will be taken after a meeting between the Central government and Aramco, the minister said. Desai further said that the Centre has assured that a committee will soon be sent to the state to decide on the site for the project.

"We are waiting for the Central government committee, which will decide on the site for setting up the refinery. The final decision will be taken by the Centre and Aramco," he said. The Mahavikas Aghadi government is focused on the development of Vidarbha region, the minister said. In the last two years, 445 hectares of land has been allotted for industries in Nagpur and Amravati MIDC areas. The total investment of these industries in both these divisions is about Rs 10,000 crore, he said. The minister also spoke about a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Vitara Group of Australia and the state government for a solar energy project in Yavatmal. These initiatives will not only generate direct employment, but also provide indirect job opportunities in Vidarbha, he added.

PTI