HPCL Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) will invest ₹2,600 crore to expand operations at its Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Bathinda, setting up polypropylene downstream units and fine chemical projects, the firm said Tuesday.
HMEL Managing Director and CEO Prabh Das said apart from producing fuels such as petrol, diesel and gas, the refinery is now planning to further expand industrial activities through fine chemical projects in Bathinda.
Das said the refinery has positioned Punjab as a key polypropylene manufacturing hub, meeting nearly 14 per cent of India’s total polypropylene demand. He added that the refinery has operated without interruption for several years and that HMEL now plans to broaden its industrial footprint beyond fuels into fine chemicals.
The refinery, commissioned in 2011 and spread across about 2,000 acres, generates an annual turnover of around ₹90,000 crore. It contributes approximately ₹2,100 crore annually to the state exchequer and accounts for 5-6 per cent of India’s petrol and diesel production.
HMEL is now making “new investment of ₹2,600 crore in polypropylene downstream and fine chemical projects to boost industrial growth in Punjab,” the company said in a statement.
The fresh investment is expected to generate additional employment. The Punjab government is considering developing a dedicated plastic industrial park near Ludhiana to strengthen the state’s plastics manufacturing ecosystem.
The statement quoted Punjab’s Minister of Industry & Commerce Sanjeev Arora as assuring HMEL of time-bound approvals for the expansion and said the company plans to set up petrol pumps across Punjab, with licences now being issued within two days. Future outlets will include multi-fuel stations offering petrol, diesel, CNG and electric vehicle charging.
Arora said the investment would spur growth in refinery-linked industries across Punjab and added that the state’s push in renewable energy would further enhance industrial competitiveness.
