They will either fund the project independently or as a consortium,' he added.

Emami has been allocated a total of 100,000 acres by the Oromia Investment Commission, the nodal agency in Oromia for allotting and distributing land for industrial and agricultural purposes.

The land is being offered on a 45-year renewable lease basis, Agarwal said.

The company believes once operations start in full swing, it would be able to churn out 100,000 tonnes of crude bio-fuel per annum. 'The bio-fuel will be exported to India for producing bio-diesel at our own plant at Haldia,' he said.

Emami Biotech currently operates an integrated plant at Haldia in West Bengal with a capacity to produce 1,800 tonnes of edible oil per day and 300 tonnes of bio-diesel from palm oil.