India's Largest Database on New Projects
September 29, 2007: The Government has unveiled a new National Policy on Petrochemicals that envisages an investment of around Rs.36,000 crore in the petrochemical sector for the next five years.
This investment is expected to increase the ethylene capacity from the current level of 2.7 million tpa to 6.9 million tpa. The petrochemical policy aims to increase investments in the sector, both upstream and downstream, and capture a slice of resurgent Asian demand in polymers. It also aims at downstream processing through additions in capacity and production by ensuring availability of raw materials at internationally competitive prices.
The policy also aims to increase the domestic demand and consumption of plastics and synthetic fibres and to increase the use of petrochemicals in thrust areas. According to estimates, the existing per capita domestic polymer consumption of 4.7 kg is likely to be enhanced to 12 kg compared to the existing world average per capital consumption of 25 kg.
The Government also expects the policy to remove structural constraints and achieve environmentally sustainable growth in the sector through innovative methods of plastic waste management, recycling and development of bio-degradable plastics. Currently, the upstream petrochemical manufacturers have commissioned globally competitive plants with imported high tech technology. On the other hand, the downstream plastic processing industry in the country is highly fragmented and consists of tiny, small and medium units.
Source: The Hindu Business Line