Odisha targets Rs. 1.73 lakh cr new investment by 2020.

The Odisha government has set a target to attract Rs 173,000 crore investment by 2019-20 in different sectors and create more than three lakh new jobs in the state. The decision to achieve the target was taken at a review meeting of Ipicol (Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited ) held here today under the chairmanship of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. IPICOL is the state level nodal agency for investment promotion and also functions as the single window platform for clearance of investment proposals. The meeting discussed the plans of Vision 2019 for industrial development in the state. It stressed on setting up of value added ancillary and labour oriented industries. Patnaik directed the officials to make the single window mechanism more active and effective. Ipicol was asked to monitor the progress of projects approved for investment and initiate steps to attract investors through policy incentives for setting up units in industrially backward regions. It was decided in the meeting to announce the Industrial Policy Resolution at the earliest and formulate a separate policy for development of ancillary industries. Among others, it was decided at the meeting to hold a Global Investors' meet in 2016 and organise road shows and attend the national and foreign events for attracting investments into the state.

Telangana govt approves 20 flyover projects worth Rs 2,600 cr for Hyderabad.

In its first major initiative on the urban infrastructure front, the Telangana government on Friday gave in principle approval for the construction of flyovers and junctions translating into 20 projects in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area under the strategic road development programme in the first phase. The government has given an administrative sanction for Rs 2,631 crore towards these projects. The state also approved a public private partnership (PPP) model wherein the projects will be awarded for construction on a semi-annuity basis with a concession period of 10 years while payment will be made in 20 equal semi-annual installment, according to orders. While the GHMC will have to make the annuity payments to the developers of these projects, the government will stand guarantee for the payment, the orders stated. The first proposed action targeting the improvement of road transit system in Hyderabad comes after chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao stated earlier this year that a host of steps, including the construction of multi-level flyovers, would be taken up to enable smooth outflow and inflow of traffic on all roads connecting the city. The government has stipulated a 2.5-year time line for the completion of these projects while it proposes to complete the entire tender process in 30 days. It would allow joint venture with a maximum of three partners duly insisting for a minimum 26 per cent equity for each of the partner all the time till completion. The one with maximum equity in the project will be considered as the lead partner, the government said. The authorities will adopt State Bank of India (SBI)�s current base rate of 9.7 per cent as the discount factor to determine the net present value of the project.

ArcelorMittal plans plant to make bioethanol from steel industry waste.

ArcelorMittal, the world�s leading steel and mining company, has joined hands with LanzaTech, the carbon recycling company, and Primetals Technologies, a leading technology and service provider to the iron and steel industry, to set up Europe�s first-ever commercial scale production facility to create bioethanol from waste gases produced during the steelmaking process. The resulting bioethanol will predominantly be used in gasoline blending, but it can also be further processed into other products such as drop in jet fuel. The 47,000 tonne per annum (tpa) ethanol project, sufficient to fuel half a million cars with ethanol blended gasoline, will demonstrate the added value of recycling waste streams, not only by reducing emissions at source, hence reducing ArcelorMittal�s direct carbon footprint, but by keeping fossil fuels in the ground through the production of commodity chemicals and fuels that would otherwise be made from oil. Approximately 50 per cent of the carbon used in the chemistry of steelmaking leaves the process as carbon monoxide. Today, this waste gas stream is either flared or used to heat and power the steel mill. In either case, the carbon monoxide is combusted and the resulting CO2 is emitted. LanzaTech�s technology, however, recycles the waste gases and ferments them with a proprietary microbe to produce bioethanol. Every tonne of bioethanol produced, displaces 5.2 barrels of gasoline as well as reducing ArcelorMittal�s CO2 emissions by 2.3 tonnes. Construction of the Euro 87-million flagship pilot project, which will be located at ArcelorMittal�s steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, is anticipated to commence later this year, with bioethanol production expected to start mid-2017. Construction will be in two phases, with phase one providing an initial capacity of 16,000 tpa ethanol by mid-2017 and phase two, which will be completed in 2018, bringing the total capacity to 47,000 tpa ethanol. ArcelorMittal, which has been working on this project since 2011, has signed a long-term partnership agreement with LanzaTech. Hence, once construction of the Ghent flagship plant is complete and the commercial viability of the project is proven, the intention is to construct further plants across ArcelorMittal�s operations. If scaled up to its full potential in Europe, the technology could enable the production of around 500,000 tonnes of bioethanol a year. As the production of bioethanol is a new activity, ArcelorMittal intends to set up a dedicated company for the roll out of this technology with strategic financial partners. Financing will be sought from a number of different sources. A total of Euro 10.2 million has been secured under the EU�s 2020 Horizon programme for research and development and talks are currently taking place with potential equity and debt partners. Primetals Technologies will be responsible for part of the engineering, automation, key equipment and commissioning. LanzaTech�s proprietary gas fermentation technology provides an economic route to fuels and high-value chemicals by recycling waste carbon streams. Founded in New Zealand, LanzaTech has raised more than $ 200 million from investors including Khosla Ventures, K1W1, Qiming Venture Partners, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, Petronas, Mitsui, Primetals, China International Capital Corp, Suncor and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

BASF and Petronas to build polyisobutene plant in Malaysia.

BASF and Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) will build a new production facility for highly reactive polyisobutene (HR-PIB) at the site of their existing joint venture, BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd, in Kuantan, Malaysia. The plant, which will be the first of its kind in South East Asia, with a total annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons of HR-PIB, is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2017. HR-PIB is an important intermediate product for the manufacturing of high performance fuel and lubricant additives, including additives for sludge prevention. Dr Christian Fischer, president of BASF�s performance chemicals division, said, �Leveraging excellence in technology will be an important factor in accelerating future profitable growth globally and especially in Asia. With this investment, we are building on the solid, long-term relationship with our strategic partner Petronas.� BASF Petronas Chemicals� fully integrated Kuantan site is one of BASF�s two Verbund sites in the Asia Pacific region. According to Fischer, the joint investment with BASF�s partner PCG at the Kuantan Verbund site will further increase security of supply for HR-PIB, especially for the Asian market. The new plant will further strengthen the global footprint of BASF as the leading supplier of this product. �The investment marks another significant milestone in the development of the Kuantan site as a leading specialty chemicals hub in the Asia Pacific region, in line with PCG�s strategy to diversify into specialty chemicals and solutions. It also strengthens the presence of highly advanced and forward oriented technologies and expertise in Malaysia and the region,� said Datuk Sazali Hamzah, president and chief executive officer of Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad. Besides the new plant in Asia, the company operates production facilities for HR-PIB at its Verbund sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, and within a joint venture with Sinopec YPC in Nanjing, China. BASF offers the broadest range of polyisobutenes in the market with different molecular weights which are marketed by the global business unit Fuel and Lubricant Solutions under the brand names of Oppanol and Glissopal. In addition to the proposed plant, BASF Petronas Chemicals is also building two plants at its Kuantan site namely an integrated aroma ingredients complex for the manufacturing of citronellol, L-menthol as well as citral and its precursors which are widely used in the flavour and fragrance industry; and a 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) production plant for the manufacturing of 2-EHA compound for the production of synthetic lubricants as well as oil additives. It is also used for functional fluids like automotive coolants, metal salts for paint dryers, plasticisers, stabilisers, catalysts and other applications in various industries.

BHEL signs three agreements in Kazakhstan for power projects.

In order to enhance its presence in the Central Asia and explore new business opportunities, BHEL has signed three strategic agreements with Kazakh companies during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s recent visit to Kazakhstan. The first MoU was signed with JSC Samruk Energy, the national power utility of Kazakhstan having a major share in the Kazakh power sector. Both companies will work together on the projects of mutual interest. BHEL has also signed an MoU for comprehensive co-operation in the energy sector for design and construction of power plants and CHP (combined heat and power plants) with KUS, one of the largest utility companies in the Kazakh power sector operating in power generation; heat production; transmission; sale of heat and electricity, etc. KUS is owned by the Ordabassy Group, total assets of the group is estimated at more than $9 billion. Third MoU was signed by BHEL with Kaznex Invest, the national export and investment agency of Kazakhstan (working under the Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan), for co-operation in executing projects in Kazakhstan. BHEL has been rapidly increasing its focus on the CIS region having successfully executed orders in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Over the last few years, Kazakhstan has emerged as the cornerstone of BHEL�s CIS operations with its regional office being located in Almaty. Five BHEL make gas turbine generators (42 MW each) are already installed at the Tengizchevroil complex in Atyrau.

BPCL to expand Bina oil refinery.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. plans to expand its Bina oil refinery in the central part of the country by 30 per cent to 156,000 barrels per day at a cost of about $472 million, its chairman S. Varadarajan told Reuters recently. The expansion of the refinery, operated by a joint venture of BPCL and state-owned Oman Oil Co in Madhya Pradesh, will be completed by 2018, he said. Oman Oil, which has a minority stake in the venture, is not participating in the 30 billion rupees expansion as of now, Varadarajan said.

KEC International wins Rs. 622-cr worth orders.

Infrastructure company KEC International recently said that it has secured orders worth Rs. 622 crore in transmission, distribution and cables businesses. "The company has secured orders in India, Kenya and the Americas amounting to Rs. 510 crore," the company said in a statement. This includes two orders worth Rs. 126 crore in domestic market from Power Grid Corporation of India for supply and construction of transmission lines in the north. The company also secured a Rs 303-crore order for the construction of HVDC Transmission Line in Kenya. "On International front, our T&D Business has secured a good order from Kenya which has further strengthened our foothold in the African region," KEC International MD & CEO Vimal Kejriwal said. It received orders worth Rs 81 crore for supply of lattice towers, monopoles and hardware in the Americas. Apart from this KEC International bagged orders of Rs 112 crore for the supply of power and telecom cables. "Our cables business, continues to enjoy good order intake trajectory. I am happy that building on our strong geographic spread and business mix, we expect to deliver robust performance levels," Kejriwal said.