Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL), one of the leading chemical companies in the country, plans to set up a mega chemical plant in Australia to tap its booming mining sector.
This would be Deepak’s first major overseas venture and its first step towards setting up a global footprint.
DFPCL has earmarked an investment of over Rs1,500 crore to set up a 300 kilo tonne per annum Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) plant in South Australia.
South Australia is very rich in minerals but much of it is not exploited. That gives us a lot of opportunity to manufacture a product and a ready market for it,” said Shailesh Mehta, managing director, DFPCL.
The company will be able to use its years of expertise in manufacturing chemicals, particularly TAN, to offer a quality product, he said, adding that DFPCL might look at importing ammonia for the plant from Middle East and Southeast Asia.
DFPCL is one of the leading TAN manufacturers in India and is in the process of tripling its capacity the country from the current 1.32 lakh tonne per annum to over 4 lakh tonne per annum within this calendar year. The company gets 90% of its revenues from manufacturing and marketing of chemicals.
Mehta said the South Australian government has already allotted land for the project and now the company will embark on the next phase of preparing a detailed feasibility report and environment impact assessment study.
An analyst with a leading brokerage said global demand for TAN is huge and is going to stay firm, especially in countries with rich mineral resources. “This augurs well for Deepak Fertilisers which is already augmenting its capacity in the country. Now the next level of growth would only come from expanding overseas,” he said.
