Haldia port is going to emerge as one of the largest destinations to import LPG in India after BPCL operationalises a terminal on Sunday.
Built at an investment of Rs 1,100 crore, the import terminal has a nameplate capacity to handle 1 million tonnes of LPG a year. This will be the third such facility to come up at Haldia, the other two being operated by the IOC-Petronas JV and Reliance Industries.
Arun Kumar Singh, director marketing of BPCL, said Haldia port has a strategic location to import LPG for the entire East and Northeast.
“Despite the low river draft which does allow big ships to dock, Haldia is preferred because it is closest to the consumption centres and LPG can be supplied at a lower cost compared with other ports on the east coast,” Singh said.
As it is industry practice to operate LPG terminals twice the nameplate capacity by working in double shifts, three terminals can handle 6mt import a year, making Haldia one of the busiest ports for LPG.
On Sunday, PM Narendra Modi will kick off the construction of a catalytic de waxing unit at IOC’s Haldia unit. To be ready by 2023 at an investment of Rs 1019 crore, it will produce base oil for lubricants, IOC director marketing Gurmeet Singh said.
