Assam Strengthens National Industrial Footprint With Rs 2,300-Crore Kandla E-Methanol Project

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Strengthening Assam's growing industrial presence at the national level, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for the Rs 2,300-crore e-methanol project in Gujarat today.

The plant with a capacity of 150 tonnes per day is a joint initiative of Assam Petro Chemical Ltd (APCL) and the Deendayal Port Authority. It will be set up at Kanfla Port, Gujarat. The project represents a major expansion of Assam's industrial footprint beyond the state and reflects the capabilities and the growing role of Assam public sector enterprises in emerging areas of the national green economy.

"PM Narendra Modi ji has given India the confidence to lead, not follow," Sarbananda Sonowal said. "Just as India is now building its own ships and containers, it will soon make the clean fuel that powers global trade. In the years ahead, Kandla will become a green-fuel hub on the Singapore-Rotterdam route, and this plant will be a model for every major port in the country. It will open skilled careers for our youth and carry India firmly toward net zero by 2070 and in achieving the goals of VIKSIT BHARAT by 2047."

Highlighting Assam's historic contribution to India's energy section, Dr Sarma said that the state has played a pioneering role in the country's oil and petroleum industry. He pointed out that Asia's first mechanically drilled oil well was established at Makum in Assam in 1867, while India's first oil refinery was commissioned at Digboi in 1901. "Assam Petro Chemical Ltd has a methanol production capacity of up to 500 tonnes per day," he said. Stating the invitation extended by Union Minister Sonowal to Assam Petro Chemical Ltd to participate as a partner in the Kandla e-methanol project, Assam readily accepted the opportunity, considering it a matter of pride for the state to contribute to one of the country's major green fuel initiatives, Dr Sarma said.

"PM Narendra Modi ji has placed the Northeast at the heart of India's growth story, and Assam is repaying that trust with enterprise and ambition," Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said. "Blessed with the mighty Brahmaputra, abundant sunshine and vast hydropower potential, Assam is ready to become a green energy powerhouse. Today, an Assam company carries that strength from Namrup to Kandla, proving that the Northeast will power India's clean energy future."

Speaking on the occasion, Gujarat CM Patel said, "Kutch and the long coastline of Gujarat will now power the world's ships through Kandla. This plant turns our renewable strength into an export and makes Gujarat's coast a gateway for India's green energy to the world."

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