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Gujarat plan for chemical estates -- Dahej seen as ideal base

Vinod Mathew

THE Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, recently unfolded the Government's plan of a comprehensive development of chemical estates with a total investment mark-up of Rs 50,000 crore during the inauguration of the Rs 4, 300-crore Gandhar complex of IPCL.

The proposed chemical estates will have petrochemicals units, chlor alkali plant, ammonia and methanol unit, power plant, central water and disposal facility and a refinery. The complex, preferably, would be connected to a port and railways, he had said.

Dahej, in south Gujarat, is shaping up into a major candidate for such an elaborate facility. This is because it will have the Rs 830-crore Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Company Ltd (GCPTCL), India's first and only exclusive port terminal for handling l iquid and gaseous chemicals.

The project will be inaugurated by Mr Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Law, Justice, Company Affairs and Shipping, on January 25. Over Rs 15,000 crore has already been invested at Dahej, and another outlay of Rs 8,000-crore is currently under-way. Though there is no refinery at Dahej, the LNG facility being planned by Petronet may work out as an alternative arrangement.

While the Rs 50,000-crore investment, as tentatively decided, is still a long distance away, the Gujarat Government is sparing no effort to make the grade as the favourite candidate for the comprehensive chemical estate status. The Chief Minister, Mr Kes hubhai Patel, has sought the Centre's intervention for a rail link between Dahej and Bharuch. The 45-km stretch is anyway under consideration for a four-lane road, on a BOT basis, at an investment of Rs 250 crore.

The GCPTCL has a single jetty situated 2.4 km into the sea and can cater to ships ranging from 6,000 DWT to 40,000 DWT, with a length of 111m to 215m. Among the liquid and gaseous chemicals that the specialised port at Dahej can handle include the hazard ous one falling in `A', `B' and `General' categories such as propylene, propane, butadiene, naphtha, N-paraffin, benzene, mixed xylene, styrene, methanol, aniline and caustic lye.

The 1.8 million-tpa liquid chemical port, with a 3,11,300 cu.m. storage capacity, which saw its capital cost go up from Rs 725 crore as projected till last year to Rs 830 crore, will be a major draw in such a dedicated chemical estate. The company has un ique storage facilities, such as its cryogenic propane tank which alone cost Rs 86 crore. The other cryogenic storage facility for propylene (30,000 cu.m.) has been created at the cost of Rs 72 crore.

The promoters' equity stands at Rs 178 crore, with the main promoter, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) accounting for 41.80 per cent stake. The other equity holders include the Gujarat Maritime Board (14.55 per cent), Gujarat Narmada Valley F ertilizer Company (12.47 per cent), Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (10.39 per cent), Gujarat State Fertilizers Company (8.32 per cent), Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation (8.31 per cent) and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (4.16 per cent). The debt portion accounts for Rs 542 crore.

The Dahej port put up by GCPTCL has one of the most modern landing facilities for liquid chemical cargo in the country. While 60 per cent of the 3,11,300 cu.m. storage space has been allotted to promoters for captive consumption, the rest would be sub-le t by promoter users.

The IPCL has signed a take-or-pay clause, whereby GCPTCL is assured of Rs 84 crore per annum for the liquid chemical storage tanks that have been put up at Dahej. In the current scheme of things, IPCL would be using storage space worth only Rs 48 crore, which means the Vadodara company will need to market the excess space and find an alternative use for the storage space, worth Rs 36 crore per annum.

Picture: The Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Company's single-berth jetty at Dahej, 2.4 km from the shore.