Talking to reporters after dedicating to the nation a Rs 87-crore melamine-II unit at the Gujarat Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited complex, he said while the KRIBHCO management proposed to invest Rs 1200 crores in the Pipavav project, state boards and corporations would foot the rest of the bill.

Announcing that tenders had been floated for the establishment of a Rs 4,000-crore joint venture urea project in Oman, he said the Union government would not allow the Petrofils Cooperative Limited in Vadodara to close shop for want of finances. In his speech, Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh said that though Vadodara had not benefited much from the big industries that had come up on the outskirts, the units had exploited the scarce resources of the city. He urged the industries to take up joint responsibility in development projects.

Singh also expressed happiness over the GSFC's recent decision to widen the road from the Chhani sales tax barrier to GSFC with its own funds.

GSFC managing director Gurucharan Singh said the new unit -- with a production capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes per annum -- had been commissioned in view of the increased demand for melamine.