GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal assured all support from the government for timely completion of the Numaligarh Refinery Limted (NRL) expansion project.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year.
Taking stock of the preliminary work of implementation of the project with NRL officials in Numaligarh on Saturday evening, Sonowal urged the Mini-Ratna officials to adhere to the timeframe as per roadmap prepared for execution of the expansion project.
He said that as the bio-fuel plant was expected to generate huge direct and indirect employment, NRL must carry out a study to identify the size of skilled manpower required to run the plant as well as the ancillary industries so that necessary skill development initiatives could be taken up beforehand.
Underlining the need to engage district administration and the DICC in generating skilled manpower, Sonowal also requested the NRL officials to prepare an assessment report to guide the government on skill enhancement and maximisation of people’s involvement in the proposed project.
The chief minister observed that such an endeavour would help in developing people’s belongingness and ownership with the project.
Sonowal also appreciated the efforts put by NRL officials in convincing the Union government to make highest ever investment for a single project in the Northeast amounting to Rs. 22,594 crore.
The chief minister expressed hope that augmentation of capacity of NRL would not only benefit its production capacity but also make the state visible in the industrial landscape of the South East Asia.
Earlier, the NRL officials made a presentation before the chief minister seeking support from the state government on issues related to additional land, initiatives for removal of no development zone around the refinery, availability of forest material, development of road infrastructure and enhanced security around the refinery.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs had approved the project in 2019. Construction on the proposed 6 MMTPA refinery would start from 2020 with mechanical completion by 2023.
During the meeting, NRL managing director, SK Baruah also handed over the company’s final dividend of Rs 27.24 crore to the chief minister.
