Calcutta, March 16: The promoters of Essar Oil are committed to bringing in the entire equity of Rs 1,300 crore required for the completion of its Vadinar project in Gujarat.

The company is upbeat about completing the 12 million-tonne refinery in the next 18-24 months as envisaged in the corporate debt restructuring package.

ABB, the principal contractor, would continue to be actively associated with the project. However, Essar Oil may also bring in additional contractors to supplement or complement ABB in the completion of the project, the company said.

The company has received a formal sanction of the lenders for the remaining amount needed for the project and was currently in process of complying with these formalities. The debt portion for the project has also been tied up, sources said. ABB was to chip in Rs 905 crore, including a bridge equity of Rs 395 crore.

Essar Oil has already achieved financial closure and the debt-equity ratio for the project is now pegged at 2:26.

The company has raised the projected capacity of the refinery at Vadinar from 10.5 million tonne to 12 million tonnes per annum.

The cost of the project has been raised from Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 9,874 crore. Essar Oil has already pumped in Rs 6,300 crore in the project and about 64 per cent of work has been completed.

“All the plant and machinery valued at $430 million have arrived on the site and equipment worth another $200 million is ready for shipment,” a senior official said.

The Vadinar plant will be the second-largest refinery in the country after Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery.

The technology used in the project will help the company to use a great variety of crude for processing, the official said.

The refinery will provide direct employment to over 10,000 people when the project is complete. Around 30,000-40,000 people will be needed during the implementation period.

The company has already embarked upon a country-wide retail network for its products.