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`Haldia to become a major industrial centre'

Staff Reporter

Two special economic zones planned

— Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

IN EXPANSION MODE: The Chief Operating Officer and Managing Executive of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Tokio Nikuni (right), with the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, at the stone laying ceremony of the second phase of expansion of Mitsubishi Chemical in Haldia on Saturday.

HALDIA: Haldia, an industrial township in West Bengal, is likely to be developed into a major national industrial growth centre in the coming days, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Saturday.

Laying the foundation for Phase II expansion of MCC PTA India Corporation Private Limited (MCPI), an affiliate of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) of Japan, here Mr. Bhattacharya said two special economic zones (SEZs) had already been planned for Haldia — one exclusively for chemicals and the other for diverse products. Apart from this, a new power station was in the offing. Mr. Bhattacharya lauded the cordial relation that existed between the management and the authorities in MCPI as a model worth emulating.

MCPI is engaged in the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), the main raw material for polyester. In the first phase, the company had invested about Rs. 1,475 crore.

Production base for PTA

PTI reports:

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation would make India a major production base for PTA. This would be achieved by expanding the capacity of its subsidiary MCPI in phase II at an investment of Rs. 1,700 crore, Managing Executive and COO of Mitsubishi (Chemical Derivatives Division), T. Niikuni, said.

He said that after the completion of the capacity upgradation, India would emerge as a major base for PTA production, used by the polyester and textiles industries. Post-expansion, the total production capacity at Haldia would increase to 12.7 million tonnes from 4.7 million tonnes annually.

The expansion project is expected to be completed by April 2008, he said.

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