Chief Minister Vijay Rupani laid the foundation stone for the country’s first desalination plant having a capacity of 100 million litres per day (MLD) at Dahej PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region) in Bharuch district on Saturday. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 881 crore.
The water from the plant, which will be operational in the next two-and-a-half years, will be supplied to industries in Dahej.
“Eight desalination plants will come up in Gujarat where sea water will be converted and made fit for the industries, agriculture and drinking purposes. With this the water scarcity issue in Gujarat will become a thing of the past,” Rupani said.
“The plant will be operational in the next 30 months. The quality of the water supplied from this plant will be like the water of the Narmada river. Under the state water supply scheme, at present the industries in Dahej get 454 MLD water daily. The expansion and development of PCPIR will increase its need and the desalination plant will help in a big way.”
“After Tamil Nadu, Gujarat will be the second state in the country to have such a plant that will make sea water fit for drinking and industrial use. The Central Government has declared PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region) in Andra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat (at Dahej in Bharuch),” the chief minister further said.
Rupani also announced allotment of GIDC land in Ankleshwar for a sports complex. Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation chairman Balwantsinh Rajput said, “Gujarat has become a development model in the country. To promote industries, 16 new GIDC has been set up across the state. Over 1.80 lakh people are employed in Dahej PCPIR and we hope that in the coming days, over 7 lakh people will get direct and indirect employment in Dahej.”
GIDC MD M Thennarasan said, “At present, 180 units are operational in Dahej PCPIR. To boost facilities at Dahej PCPIR, Rs 16,000 crore has been invested.”