Hardeep Puri's wish is ONGC's $56m command
Words have power, translated to action when you're the oil minister.
Just one sentence spoken by oil minister Hardeep Puri is believed to be responsible for ONGC's decision to build a controversial convention centre in south Goa at an estimated cost of around Rs475cr ($56m). Exactly how the centre plan emerged is only now coming to light.
A well-placed source tells us it all stemmed from a casual remark made by Puri on February 9 (2024). Soon after, on March 20 (2024), the Management Committee of Directors (MCoD) decided that ONGC needed to build the centre for the 2026 edition of India Energy Week (IEW) after Puri's suggestion.
Another MCoD had granted in-principle approval to the plan on March 13 (2024). "During the concluding session of IEW-2024 on February 9 (2024), the oil minister expressed the need to set up a permanent convention centre in the ONGC campus at Betul in Goa, and it was announced that IEW-2026 would be conducted in new convention facilities," note the minutes of the March 20 (2024) meeting.
A source adds Puri lauded the IEW as a grand success, spoke about the next edition of IEW in Delhi, and then discussed the February 2026 summit in Goa. "In February 2026, IEW will be again in Goa (and) by that time, we will have all the infrastructure completed permanently," Puri said at the end of a discussion on stage.
Puri also suggested to ONGC chairman Arun Singh that the company earmark 25 of the 250 acres in Goa for hotels to be built through international competitive bidding. Following Puri's remarks, ONGC almost immediately contracted Engineers India (EIL) to build the centre.
In back-to-back meetings on February 16 and February 26 (2024), ONGC chairman Singh discussed the plan. By March 20 (2024), the MCoD had agreed on a 5000-seat capacity auditorium plus 14,000-sq metre exhibition hall area and foyer.
"The proposed convention centre at ONGC Goa would also be utilised for events other than IEW like HSE meetings," add the meeting minutes, quoted by sources.