“Jamnagar holds a very deep and dear place in our hearts. For Kokila mummy (Kokilaben Ambani), it is her ‘janmabhoomi’ (birth place), the land of her birth, representing her roots and values,” Nita Ambani said, referring to her mother-in-law, who was present at the event.
“She is here with us today and all this has been possible only because of her ‘aashirwad’ (blessings). Thank you mummy for everything that you do for us,” she added.
Thereafter, she went on to pay tribute to her father-in-law, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, saying, “For Papa, Shri Dhirubhai Ambani, Jamnagar was his ‘karmabhoomi’ (workplace), the land of his vision, his dreams, his destiny, symbolising his duty, dedication and purpose…I am sure he is showering his blessings on all of us here in Jamnagar.”
She added, “This is where Papa saw the big dream of setting up the world’s largest grassroots refinery, and this is where Mukesh (Ambani) helped to bring his father’s dream into reality. For our children, especially Anant
, it is his ‘Sevabhoomi’, the land of his service and compassion.”
Opened on December 28, 1999, the Jamnagar refinery, Reliance’s first refinery, has transformed itself into the largest refining hub in the world over the past two-and-a-half decades.
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During the time of its inception, the Jamnagar Refinery faced scepticism from several experts around the world, who expressed doubts over the construction of the huge-scale refinery in a remote, arid area — that faced multiple issues related to basic infrastructure facilities like roads, electricity and even drinking water. However, Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani defied all the odds and transformed this city into an industrial and technological hub through this mega project.
The refinery was completed in just 33 months and even overcame big challenges like complex logistical issues.
In today’s times, this famous city in Gujarat houses some of the largest and most advanced facilities around the world, including Alkylation, Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC), Paraxylene, Polypropylene, and Petcoke gasification plants.