Bamboo-based ethanol plant at Numaligarh awaits technical success

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: The historic Numaligarh Refinery, established under the Assam Accord, had taken the initiative to set up a bio-refinery project aimed at producing ethanol from bamboo. The project was formally inaugurated on September 14 last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is considered one of the largest second-generation ethanol projects in the country.

Although it was expected that production would begin soon after the inauguration, it has now been learned that the project has not yet achieved the required technical success to start production.

It may be noted that Assam Bio-Ethanol Private Limited (ABEP) began construction of the bio-refinery within the premises of Numaligarh Refinery in 2018. Initially, about Rs 800 crore was allocated for the project with a target to complete construction within approximately four years.

Later, with the aim of starting production by March 2025, the project cost was increased to Rs 4,200 crore. However, the cost has reportedly risen further, and the total investment is now estimated to be around Rs 5,000 crore. Along with Numaligarh Refinery, two Finnish companies-Fortum and Chempolis-have been involved in implementing the project.

Once production begins, it is expected that around 1,000 to 1,500 people will gain direct and indirect employment. For producing ethanol from bamboo, the refinery will require approximately 500,000 tonnes of bamboo annually. It was hoped that once production begins at the bio-refinery in Numaligarh, people across the entire Northeast region would benefit and the demand for bamboo grown in the region would increase significantly.

It may be mentioned that in 1999, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated the refinery, with an annual refining capacity of 3 million metric tonnes, to the nation. Although discussions had taken place earlier regarding expansion of the refinery, it could not be implemented due to a shortage of crude oil in Assam.

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