Assam’s Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary visited the 500 Tons Per Day (TPD) methanol expansion project of Assam Petrochemicals Limited (APL) at Namrup on Monday to review the progress with Chairman, Managing Director and Project Department of APL along with consultants from Engineers India Ltd. and Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had laid the foundation stone for the 500 TPD methanol plant in Namrup on October 3, 2017 to meet the increasing demand of methanol as an alternative fuel. Since then, Industries and Commerce Department has been monitoring the project with regular review meetings.
The project is now complete in all respects and government has decided for its ceremonial inauguration very shortly.
With an investment of Rs. 1600 crores, this project is the biggest industrial initiatives by Assam Government. After Gujarat, it will also be India’s second Government Undertaking to produce methanol. Once commissioned, it will be exported to different countries as well as distributed within India.
In India, out of the total methanol usage, 75 to 85 per cent is imported from countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc. Only 20 to 25 per cent is produced in India out of which 60 per cent is produced by APL, Namrup.
Interacting with the management, Minister Patowary appreciated the hard work of the people behind the project. He expressed satisfaction with the progress of the project and acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the people behind this project.
Source- The Shillong Times
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