HPCL to invest in 2 sugar mills

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) announced that it will invest Rs6.14 billion (US$128.51 million) in two sugar mills it bought in Bihar to manufacture ethanol. The two plants will produce 60 kiloliters of ethanol per day, which will be blended with petrol. HPCL said it is tendering for plant equipment. The two units will be operational by the end of 2010. India has mandated blending of ethanol in petrol to reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. The country currently mandates a 5% ethanol blend, which officials said it may double in coming years. HPCL last year took over the two closed sugar mills from the Bihar government on a 60-year lease for Rs950 million (US$19.88 million). Ethanol produced at the two mills, according to HPCL, would be enough to meet demand in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. (June 3, 2009)