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Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery, the conglomerate’s first, celebrated its 25th anniversary on December 28, 2024. The facility has become the world’s refining hub and an engineering marvel
Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani. File pic
Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani recently addressed employees in Jamnagar to mark the 25th anniversary of the company’s flagship refinery. Jamnagar, he said, is set to be a platform for long-term growth, not just for Reliance but also for its employees and future generations.
“Jamnagar is not only the best oil refinery in the world; it has the biggest gigafactory in the world, the biggest solar energy, and fourth is the world’s artificial intelligence infrastructure. Besides, the digital factory will also be in Jamnagar,” Mukesh Ambani told the employees. “It sets a platform, which will be a platform for growth for the next many decades, for all of you, for your children.”
The company is also developing artificial intelligence infrastructure in Jamnagar, a city regarded as a jewel for the Reliance family, within just 24 months. Furthermore, Ambani spoke about Jamnagar’s role in nature conservation through the Reliance Foundation’s Vantara initiative. The Vantara programme, launched in February 2024, focuses on the rescue, treatment, care, and rehabilitation of injured, abused, and threatened animals both in India and abroad. The programme spans 3,000 acres within the Green Belt of the Jamnagar Refinery Complex and aims to be a leading contributor to global conservation efforts.
Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery, the conglomerate’s first, celebrated its 25th anniversary on December 28, 2024. The facility has become the world’s refining hub and an engineering marvel. When the refinery project was first proposed, many experts deemed it impossible to establish the largest refinery in the world in a desert-like region, which lacked roads, electricity, and sufficient water supply. However, despite these challenges, Reliance completed the refinery in a record 33 months, overcoming hurdles such as a severe cyclone that hit the region during construction.
Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance, defied the warnings of project consultants who advised against setting up the refinery in such a remote area. His vision was not merely to build an industrial plant but to create a thriving, self-sustaining complex. Between 1996 and 1999, Dhirubhai and his motivated team succeeded in transforming Jamnagar into an industrial powerhouse. Today, the Jamnagar refinery complex houses some of the world’s largest industrial units, including the Fluidised Catalytic Cracker, Coker, Alkylation, Paraxylene, Polypropylene, Refinery Off-Gas Cracker, and Petcoke gasification plants.
