Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a Rs 5000-crore bamboo-based ethanol plant at Numaligarh in Assam’s Golaghat district. He also laid the foundation stone for the Rs 7230-crore Petro Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Unit at the Numaligarh Refinery.

The “world’s first, second-generation” bioethanol plant is a ‘zero-waste’ facility, which will utilise all parts of the bamboo plant, and is expected to give a Rs 200-crore boost to the rural economy in the state, officials said. It will source 5 lakh tonnes of green bamboo from four northeastern states, benefitting over 50,000 people directly and indirectly, they said.