Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation, is planning an investment of Rs 2400 crore (Rs 24 billion) during the 10th Plan period, M S Ramachandran, chairman of IOC group companies, said on Thursday.

"This investment will be mainly on expansion, modernisation and infrastructure projects that would strengthen the company's dominant presence in south India in the era of liberalisation," he told the 37th annual general meeting of CPCL, in Chennai.

He said the Rs 2,360 crore (Rs 23.60 billion) ongoing expansion project of CPCL's refinery at Manali (near Chennai) was all set for commissioning by December this year.

The 3 million metric tonnes per annum expansion project envisages process integration with existing refinery to improve distillates yeild, product quality and to reduce environmental emissions from the existing refinery.

Ramachandran said the company was in the advanced stages of negotiations with the Neyveli Lignite Corporation to put up a joint venture 492 MW power project near Manali, based on heavy residue feedstock.

Ramachandran said a new pipeline would be laid from Chennai to Manali refinery along the route of a proposed port connectivity project; the project was expected to be completed by the end of 2005.

He said during the 2002-03 fiscal year, the company's profit after tax scaled a new high of Rs 303 crore (Rs 3.03 billion), five times more than that of the previous year. The company had declared a dividend of 35 per cent for 2002-03.

Ramachandran said CPCL's performance for the first quarter of 2003-04 had been good and that the PAT during the quarter had increased by over 10 per cent compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.