PM launches projects worth Rs 12,230 crore in Assam's Numaligarh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a Rs 5,000-crore bamboo-based ethanol plant at Numaligarh in Assam's Golaghat district.

He also laid the foundation stone for the Rs 7,230-crore Petro Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit at the Numaligarh Refinery here.

The "world's first, second-generation" bioethanol plant is a ‘zero-waste' facility, which will utilise all parts of the bamboo plant, and is expected to give a Rs 200-crore boost to the rural economy in the state, officials said.

It will source 5 lakh tonnes of green bamboo from four northeastern states, benefitting over 50,000 people directly and indirectly, they said.

The polypropylene plant, the foundation for which was laid by Modi, is an important milestone in manufacturing plastic with a wide range of applications, the officials said.

The plant has the potential to generate 75,000 man-days annually.

Earlier in the day, the PM laid the foundation stones for health and infrastructure projects worth Rs 6,300 crore at Mangaldoi in Darrang district.

He also launched the construction of Darrang Medical College and Hospital, along with a nursing college and a GNM school.

The combined investment in these healthcare projects is worth Rs 570 crore, the officials said.

Modi also laid the foundation stones for the 2.9 km-long Narengi-Kuruwa bridge with an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore and the 118.5 km-long Guwahati Ring Road project, connecting Kamrup and Darrang districts in Assam and Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya.

The cost for the Ring Road project is estimated to be Rs 4,530 crore.

Modi had arrived in Assam on Saturday evening and attended Bharat Ratna awardee Bhupen Hazarika's birth centenary celebrations.