Bamboo-Based Biofuel Project: Assam secures $408 million investment from Japan

Japan will provide $408 million (nearly 60 billion yen) in public and private financing for a biofuel project in India. The bioenergy project aims to convert bamboo biomass into automobile fuel.

As per reports, the funding package is being led by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a government-backed lender, along with private players such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

JBIC alone will extend about $244 million towards the biofuel project. This initiative marks the largest financial support by Japanese institutions in northeastern India and reflects Tokyo’s growing focus on clean energy cooperation.

In India, the project is being handled by the state-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) under the framework of Indo-Japanese collaboration on sustainable energy. The loan will be channelled through PFC to Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited (ABEPL), which is setting up a new refinery in Assam’s Golaghat district. The plant, now in its final stages of construction, will use locally grown bamboo as its primary raw material.

Once operational, the refinery is expected to produce 49,000 metric tons of bioethanol annually, which will be blended with petrol to cut emissions. In addition, it will manufacture 11,000 tons of acetic acid—used in adhesives and other industries—and 19,000 tons of furfural, a chemical used in synthetic resins. Surplus biomass will be converted into electricity, ensuring a zero-waste production cycle.

In Assam’s Golaghat, the state owned Numaligarh Refinergy is developing an ethanol project worth Rs 4,000 crore. Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took stock of the development of the bamboo-based ethanol project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled visit to Assam in September to inaugurate it as India’s maiden bamboo-based ethanol plant.

The Central Government has been bullish on the development of bamboo especially for the utilisation in bioenergy production. Last year, Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha said that Reliance Industries is exploring possibilities of setting up a bamboo ethanol plant in Tripura.