Indian Petrochemical Project Moves Ahead

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended a ceremony last week to mark the start of construction of a new petrochemical complex in Assam, a poor Indian state northeast of Bangladesh. The $1.3 billion complex, which has been under discussion since 1991, will feature a 220,000-metric-ton-per-year ethylene cracker, a 220,000-metric-ton polyethylene unit, and a 60,000-metric-ton polypropylene plant. It will be 70% owned by the state-run Gas Authority of India. The government says construction will be completed in 2011, but the prime minister sounded tentative about this schedule in his speech, urging those who are managing construction to draw up a calendar to ensure timely completion. "It will boost the morale of all our people if we can actually show them that we too in Assam can deliver on time-bound schedules," he said.