PM Modi to lay foundation stone of Cauvery Basin refinery in TN on Wednesday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of 9 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) Cauvery Basin refinery at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

PM Modi will also dedicate the 143 km long Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline section, and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Manali to the nation, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

PM Modi has been inaugurating and laying foundation stones for a raft of infrastructure projects in the state, before Tamil Nadu state assembly elections expected around April.

“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation of key projects of the oil & gas sector in Tamil Nadu on 17th February 2021 at 4:30 PM via video conferencing,” the statement said.

On Sunday, PM Modi laid down the foundation for the modernization of 636 km long Grand Anicut canal system that will help improve irrigation facilities for 2.27 lakh acres of land. On Sunday, he also inaugurated the 9 km long Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I extension, completed at a cost of ₹3,770 crores, that connects Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar.

“The Cauvery Basin Refinery to be set up at Nagapattinam will have a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per annum. It will be set up through a Joint Venture of IOCL and CPCL at an estimated project cost of Rs. 31,500 crore. It will produce Motor Spirit and Diesel meeting BS-VI specifications, and Polypropylene as a value-added product,” the PMO statement on Monday said.

India, the third-largest oil importer globally, is a key refining hub in Asia, with an installed capacity of more than 249.36 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It has 23 refineries and plans to increase its refining capacity to 400 mtpa by 2025.