GUWAHATI, March 1 - Unveiling projects worth Rs 1,524 crore in Assam covering all aspects of upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the hydrocarbon sector, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said the region is poised to be a key point of world trading.
�Products from Northeast have started going to Bangladesh and Myanmar. Soon they will be sent to other Southeast Asian countries. The PSUs working here have increased their investments multifold. The region will soon become a key point of world trading,� Pradhan said.
Among the nine projects unveiled today is a multi-crore-rupee national oil museum to be named after KD Malaviya, which will have all aspects of hydrocarbon history. To come up at a cost of Rs 104 crore in Guwahati, the museum will have five galleries, auditorium, 3D theatre, outdoor science park, etc., and all major oil and gas PSUs are participating in the project. �The museum is expected to find a prominent place in the tourism map of the country,� Pradhan said.
The Union minister said in 10 to 15 years, the four refineries of Assam will be able to meet the demand of the region, but yet the investments are being increased to augment their capacities.
The Green Field Railfed Pol Storage Depot of IOCL at Digboi built at a cost of Rs 273 crore, augmented LPG bottling plant at Silchar and North Guwahati, upgraded crude oil pump stations of OIL, Swargadeo Chaulung Siu Ka Pha multi-specialty hospital of ONGC at Sivasagar, ONGC�s GGS Borholla to Jorhat CTF pipeline, ONGC�s effluent treatment cum water injection plant at Sivasagar and the Mounded LPG Storage at Numaligarh Refinery were among the nine projects unveiled by the Union minister today.
Pradhan said Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 outlines steps to leverage the hydrocarbon sector and it will lead to enhanced productivity.
The building for Phase I of the Swargadeo Chaulung Siu Ka Pha multi-specialty hospital was completed 4 months ahead of schedule. The work on Phase II with 150 beds is also under progress.
Over 50,000 patients are expected to be benefited in the first year itself and with the addition of 150 beds in the second phase, one lakh patient will be benefited in a year through this flagship project of ONGC.
