Describing Dahej as the “Kashi” for chemical and petrochemical industry, Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said India’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (CICET) will be set up within this industrial zone in South Gujarat that also houses the only functional Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR)

“We want to open a specialised institution at Dahej on the lines of CIPET (Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology). We have already conducted preliminary talks and we plan to set up India’s first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology,” said the minister.

“Jaise Wimbeldon ko tennis ki kashi kehte hai, jaise Lords ko cricket ka kashi kehte hai, aise hi chemical or petrochemical industry ka kashi, yadi Bharat mein kisi ek jagah bata sakte hai toh woh hai Dahej, Gujarat. (Just as Wimbeldon is called the kashi of tennis, Lords as the kashi of cricket, the same way, if there is one place in India which can be called the kashi of chemical and petrochemical industry, it is Dahej, Gujarat,” said Ananth Kumar.

“I am hoping that Chief Minister of Gujarat will allocate 10-15 acres needed for the project at Dahej PCPIR region,” he stated. He also added that Dahej currently provides employment to 1.37 lakh youths. “Can we double this number? As per the vision statement for Dahej it is targeted to provide 8 lakh jobs by 2040,” the minister remarked.

The Union minister also said that the Centre was ready to provide a helping hand to make Dahej PCPIR a success. The Centre had approved setting up of four PCPIRs in the states of Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatanam-Kakinada), Gujarat (Dahej), Odisha (Paradeep) and Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore-Nagapattinam)

He also asked other states to send a proposal for the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) needed to make Dahej successful.

The minister also suggested to the Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to organise a “Dahej investment summit” either as part of the Vibrant Gujarat summit or as a separate event for the next five years.