Haldia occupies an important position in the state’s industrial development plan. It is Bengal’s second port after Kolkata, designed to handle container cargo. It has also emerged as a hub of the chemical and petrochemical industries. The state considers this a promising sector in the context of national and global demands.

With its existing industrial units and potential for rapid growth in the future, Haldia is being considered as a site for a major chemical SEZ. The idea got a further boost when the government of India selected the Haldia region for setting up a Petroleum, Chemical, Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) covering over 62,000 acres.

The existing chemical and petrochemical units in Haldia already cover much of this 62,000 acres. The state government needs to identify about 10,000 acres more to seal the deal for which there are competitors. Accordingly, the state government has engaged M/s Dalal Mott Macdonald (DMM) through the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to prepare a detailed project report for submission to GOI. It is at this point that the state got entangled in the Nandigram fiasco. It is still trying to wriggle out of it.

• What exactly is a PCPIR? And why should Haldia qualify?

A Petroleum, Chemical, Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) envisages the growth of industrial clusters of chemical and petrochemical units both in large and SME segment along with port, rail and road connectivity. The state feels that Haldia is a natural choice for this because of the existing units like Haldia Petrochemicals Limited, a Bengal government initiative with joint sector partners, the second largest petrochemical complex in India. Other existing units include the Japanese-owned Mitsubishi Chemicals and Corporation, the South Asian Petrochemicals Limited — a subsidiary of Dhunseri Group, Indian Oil Corporation and Tata Chemicals. Therefore, Haldia occupies a critical space in the state’s industrial development plan. Moreover, the Indian Oil Corporation has agreed to become the anchor investor in Haldia PCPIR. Support for infrastructure linkages is assured by the government of India.

... contd.