BRS-launched Narmetta project to be inaugurated by Congress government

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will inaugurate the Narmetta oil palm factory in Siddipet on March 22, a project initiated during the BRS regime, which is set to boost oil palm processing, farmer returns and employment generation.

Siddipet: The Congress government is preparing to claim yet another project initiated during the BRS regime, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy set to inaugurate the Narmetta oil palm factory on March 22.

Former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and former minister T Harish Rao had envisaged the project soon after the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIPR) permitted farmers to take up oil palm cultivation in Siddipet in 2021. Apart from allotting 62 acres of land near Narmetta village in Nanganur mandal, the BRS government sanctioned Rs. 300 crore for the project, with plans to establish Telangana’s first refinery at the site with an outlay of Rs. 40 crore. Revanth Reddy will also lay the foundation stone for the refinery during his programme on Sunday.

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Harish Rao and then Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the project on April 13, 2022. At present, oil palm cultivated across Telangana is transported to the Aswaraopet oil palm factory, and once the refinery is installed at Narmetta, palm oil will be refined at the plant itself, enabling direct dispatch of packed oil to the market.

At present, there are two oil palm factories in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, while six more are under construction across the State as the area under oil palm cultivation has increased considerably over the last five years. However, the Narmetta oil palm factory will be the only facility in the State with an integrated refinery. Siddipet district has around 14,300 acres under oil palm cultivation, while the State accounts for about 2.91 lakh acres.

Officials of the Oil Federation said there is potential to expand cultivation to 70 lakh acres across the country, as India continues to import a significant portion of its palm oil requirement.

Once fully scaled up, the plant will be the first in the country with a crushing capacity of 120 tonnes per hour, although it will initially operate at 30 tonnes per hour. The factory is designed to process oil palm cultivated over 40,000 acres annually. It also includes a 10-crore-litre water reservoir, a biogas unit and a 4 MW captive power plant.

Waste generated at the plant will be utilised for mattress manufacturing, fish feed and organic fertiliser. Trial runs have been completed multiple times, and the unit will be ready for operations immediately after inauguration. Officials said the factory will generate direct and indirect employment for over 1,000 people. Farmers are also expected to benefit from higher recovery, as 100 tonnes of oil palm processed here will yield 20 tonnes of oil, compared to 19 tonnes at other plants, ensuring better returns.