Deepak Fert plans plant in east

(Article first published in Business Standard, 22^nd October 2005)

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation (DFPCL) today announced plans to set up a 3,00,000 tonne per annum greenfield complex for nitric acid and ammonium nitrate in eastern India.

The project will be set up with an investment of about Rs 400 crore ($90 million) and will primarily focus on the needs of the mining and construction sectors in the domestic and global markets.

The new plant is expected to be set up in two years. The company plans to raise capital through debt financing or term loans and internal accruals.

The new project will augment the company's geographical reach across the country and strengthen its position in the market. Its Optimex brand is a market leader in ammonium nitrate.

Ammonium nitrate is extensively used in the mining and construction sectors, which are growing at a strong pace.

Its domestic demand is rising at about 5 per cent annually while demand in the international market is also growing fast.

The company already has a prilled ammonium nitrate facility with a capacity of 90,000 tonne at Taloja near Mumbai. The company's 100 per cent subsidiary, Smartchem Technologies, also has two plants with a total capacity of 50,000 tonne in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

"The new capacity expansion will propel the company into a new high growth phase," said SC Mehta, managing director, DFPCL, adding that the company would be focussed in providing world class blasting solutions to customers.

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