India celebrated a synthetic fuels milestone at Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) Kandla, Gandhidham, Gujarat, when Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, and Assam’s Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma laid the foundation stone for the country’s first port-based e-methanol plant.
A joint initiative between DPA and Assam Petro-Chemicals (APCL), the Rs 2,300 crore (€21,000) plant will produce 150 tonnes of e-methanol a day, which will be supplied to vessels using the Asia-Europe International Trade Corridor.
Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat’s Chief Minister, said: “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is growing faster and greener than ever, and Gujarat is proud to lead that journey. 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.”
Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister MoPSW, commented: “PM Narendra Modi has given India the confidence to lead, not follow. 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 is 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.”
Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam’s Chief Minister, concluded: “PM Narendra Modi has placed the Northeast at the heart of India’s growth story, and Assam is repaying that trust with enterprise and ambition. 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.”
