Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was to lay the foundation stone for ONGC's Rs 4,900-crore (Rs 49 billion) aromatic complex, could not land at the airport here due to bad weather. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora's flight also had the same fate.
The aircraft carrying Singh was diverted to Bangalore, a company official said, adding that no new date has been finalised for the ceremony.
ONGC chairman and managing director R S Sharma said the prime minister has desired to lay the foundation stone at a later date. Sharma said the project would be executed within the scheduled timeframe.
ONGC's petrochemical foray envisages a total investment of more than Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) at the Mangalore Special Economic Zone, which will house a new 15 million tonnes refinery, power, LNG and petrochemical plants.
The petrochemicals complex would be executed through a special purpose vehicle of ONGC. The oil giant would hold 46 per cent stake in the SPV while its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd would have 3 per cent. The balance 51 per cent would be with financial institutions.
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