Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Rupani inaugurated the 5th edition of India CHEM 2017 Conference and Exhibition at Mahatma Mandir in the presence of Ministers of Union Government Mr. Ananthkumar and Mr.Mansukhbhai Mandaviya. The Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mr. Ananth Kumar announced to establish the Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (CCET) by the Union Government in the state of Gujarat in the Petrochemicals and Petroleum Industrial Region- PCPIR Dahej. The state government shall co-operate in each and every process like allocating land, etc to build the first institute of such a kind in the entire world.
Mr. Rupani said that Gujarat contributes 35% in the country’s chemical output and 18% in the total investment. In addition to that, he expressed utmost happiness on Gujarat becoming the hub for chemicals and petrochemicals. He also said that there are as many as 16,000 small scale industries and 500 medium and large scale industries in the state for the production of chemicals. Dahej is the LNG terminal of the nation in addition to being a PCPIR. The state government is keen on making it the centre point of chemical and petrochemical industry in the country.
He clearly stated his intention of producing the chemicals and petrochemicals in a sustainable manner by adopting the mantra of ‘Zero effect- zero defect’ and also mentioned about the government’s aim to promote ‘green technology’. He also talked about the role of the government led by Prime Minister Modi which has been instrumental in the development of industrial regions such as Ankleshwar, Vapi, Vatva etc by lifting the meritoriums.
Talking about the specialties of Dahej PCPIR, he said that more than 30,000 thousand people have been employed in this region which is spread in an area of 453 sq.mtrs. He also stated that the OPAL ONGC plant at Dahej is a reflection of Prime Minister Modi’s dream to see Dahej as a petrochemical hub. He also told that a logistic park at Dahej will come up at a cost of Rs. 175 crores with a capacity of 1 lakh containers. The MOU for the same had been done in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Business Summit-2017.
Mr.Ananth Kumar said that Gujarat has the ability to become not only India’s Chemical-Petrochemical Hub but of the entire Asian sub-continent and praised Dahej PCPIR by describing it as India’s Kashi. He expressed a firm belief to fulfill the task of providing 8 lakh employment opportunities in the region by 2040 by providing the ‘Viability Gap Funding’ to the state government. He offered financial support from the Central treasury through Viability-Gap Funding (VGF) for the success of ambitious project of Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Dahej in Gujarat. Looking at the dismal participation of the processing units at the PCPIR in Dahej, Kumar asked Gujarat to submit a proposal for VGF from the Centre. “Dahej PCPIR produces 2 million tonnes of raw material or intermediaries. But only 800,000 tonnes is consumed directly. I assure you, if you ask for VGF, the Centre will consider it favourably,” Kumar said, adding that there is a potential to create employment opportunity for 800,000 by 2040 in the region.
Training talents At the fifth edition of India CHEM Gujarat 2017 at Mahatma Mandir here, Kumar also announced India’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (CICET) to be set up at Dahej on the similar lines of CIPET for plastics sector, to facilitate skill development in the chemicals sector.
Highlighting the emerging need of talent for chemicals processing in the country, Kumar said: “The Central government has planned to set up a specialised institute on the lines of Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) for skill development in chemicals sector. This (CICET) will be country’s first specialised institute on chemicals and it will be set up at Dahej. We will send a formal proposal to Gujarat for land requirement of about 10-15 acres and the infrastructure support.”
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani assured support for setting up of CICET. According to Rupani, Gujarat currently has over 16,000 small and medium enterprises and more than 500 medium-to-large units in the chemicals sector, producing about 6,500 types of chemicals and petroleum products.
Roadmap On the future roadmap for the chemicals sector in the country, Tata Strategic Management Group released a report, which highlighted critical issues in the industry such as availability of key feedstock, infrastructure status, scale of operations, access to technology, energy security and ease of doing business. Today, at a domestic industry size of $155 billion, India’s chemical sector accounts for only 3.4 per cent of the global chemical market, while it has a potential to grow to a size of $346 billion by fiscal 2025.
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping,Chemical & Fertilizers Mr.Mansukhbhai Mandaviya said that the state of Gujarat accelerated in growth and development due to the able leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Modi. The state will soon be able to achieve new heights of achievements in the chemical and petrochemical industry as well.
Secretary of Petrochemicals in the Union Government, Mr. Rajiv Kapoor emphasized the importance of Dahej PCPIR. The conference also witnessed an exhibition which received large scale participation form industrialists, researchers, students and many others.
