Privatisation force BPCL to halt work on ₹11,130-crore polyol plant in Kochi

The Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has put on hold a planned specialty petrochemicals plant for producing polyols at its Kochi refinery in Kerala.

This is being done as BPCL prefers to wait for the outcome of the privatisation process currently underway before proceeding on the Rs 11,130 crore project.

The project is to be built on 170 acre of land adjoining the refinery that was acquired by BPCL from FACT, also a central PSU. It was put in motion in January 2019. But after completing land-levelling work for erecting the plant, BPCL halted construction of a road underpass to link the project site with the refinery.

The process of selecting a licensor for sourcing technology for the polyol plant has also been frozen.

The uncertainty surrounding the polyol plant has also cast a shadow over the petrochemical park planned by the Kerala government where small industries will manufacture products utilising niche/specialty petro-chemicals sourced from the polyol plant and the Propylene Derivatives Petrochemical Project (PDPP).

The PDPP, built by BPCL with an investment of Rs 5,246 crore, is expected to be commissioned by the end of February 2021.

BPCL has also halted work on a skill development centre for training students passing out of ITI at Ettumanoor near Kochi. The state had offered eight acre of land at ITI for the centre that planned to train 1,500 students a year.