Coromandel International s Rs 1,000 Crore Investment in Kakinada Plant Expansion”

Coromandel International, a company primarily involved in the fertilizer business, has announced plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in establishing a plant to produce sulphuric and phosphoric acid in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. According to the company’s regulatory filing,

The project is already underway. The facility will be commissioned in two years and will have a daily production capacity of 650 tonnes of phosphoric acid that will use advanced DA-HF (Dihydrate Attack-Hemihydrate Filtration) process technology and automated DCS system.

This investment will enhance the backward integration capacities and supply stability of phosphoric acid for its fertilizer manufacturing by replacing over 50% of the Kakinada plant’s imported acid requirement.

Coromandel International also plans to set up a 1,800 TPD sulphuric acid plant to meet the captive needs in phosphoric acid manufacturing and augment power from the waste heat generation.

The phosphoric and sulphuric acid are key intermediaries for manufacturing phosphatic fertilizers like DAP and NPKs.

The Kakinada plant has a production capacity of 2 million tonnes, making it India’s second-largest phosphatic fertilizer facility, accounting for nearly 15% of the nation’s NPK fertilizer output.

Coromandel International’s Executive Chairman, Arun Alagappan, said, “This investment signifies a pivotal moment in Coromandel’s journey towards strengthening its self-sufficiency goals in fertilizer manufacturing.”

The company is also exploring investment support from the state and central governments to improve the project’s viability and ensure supply security for key raw materials used in fertilizer manufacturing.

Coromandel International operates in two major segments: Nutrient and other allied businesses and Crop protection. These include fertilizers, crop protection, bio-products, specialty nutrients, and organic businesses.