The construction of naphtha cracker unit of Haldia Petrochemical Limited (HPL), is running far behind its scheduled time for completion.
The project involving an investment of Rs840 crore and having an expected capacity of 5,23,000 to 6,70,000 tons per annum was intended to get completed by April this year. However, because of shortage of designers, fabrication space and other required materials, it will be culminated only till the third quarter of 2008-09.
Although the figures for over-expenditure were not disclosed, Swapan Kumar Bhowmik, managing director of HPL, told reporters that there is bound to be a cost over-run due to the delay in the project.
Nonetheless, HPL has plans to venture for value-addition by manufacturing products that do not require a huge quantity of naphtha.
What forced the company to conclude this decision was the stark rise in the prices of naphtha which touched the highest ever figures of $860 per ton. Furthermore, HPL is also negotiating with L&T for acquiring its 51 percent stake in HPL Cogeneration involving Rs150-200 crore and the State Government has already given it approval for the purpose.