Gandhinagar: Gujarat will have a 500 KLD bioethanol plant with an investment of Rs. 1,000 crore. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) was signed today in State capital Gandhinagar in presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Proposed plant will have estimated turnover of Rs. 1500 crore. It will have potential to give employment to around 700 persons directly or indirectly. The plant will result into annually 70 millions US dollar saving on account of reduced import of crude oil.

GACL is Gujarat government arm. An MoU was signed by its Managing Director Milind Torwane and GAIL’s business development division director MV Aiyar.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched a road map for 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by year 2025 in attempt to reduce the import of crude oil and save foreign exchange on that account. A bioethanol plant to be set up in Gujarat will be an important step in this direction.

Proposed plant will use corn stover or rice straw as feed stock. By using eco-friendly technology 500 KLD (kilo liter per day) bioethanol will be produced. Also 135 KTPA protein-rich animal feed and 16.50 KTPA corn-oil will be obtained as by-product. Due to large scale purchase of corn, the farmers will find a new gateway for selling their produce. DeshGujarat