Deepak Fertilisers to set up nitric acid plant in Dahej with Rs 550-cr investment

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL), one of India’s leading producers of industrial chemicals and fertilisers, will enhance its nitric acid production capacities by setting up a greenfield project in Dahej, Gujarat, with an estimated investment of Rs 550 crores. Nitric acid finds its application in nitro-aromatics, pharmaceuticals, dyes, steel rolling industry, defense and explosives industries.

"We are the largest manufacturer of nitric acid in India and this new facility will be the first step of development of a mega multi products site at Dahej which would cater to the demand of many intermediates and specialty chemicals manufacturers in India. As an organisation, we have always been customer centric. This project is planned in a manner that we will be ready to cater to the growing demands of our customer's expansion plans," said Sailesh Mehta, CMD, DFPCL.

Deepak Fertilisers currently produces three variants of nitric acid, which include dilute, concentrated and strong, at its Taloja (Maharashtra) facility. A large amount of nitric acid is used by the company for captive consumption – mainly to produce technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) and ammonium nitro phosphate (ANP) fertiliser. 

In 2015-16, the total sales volume for nitric acid saw an increase of 9 percent year-on-year (YOY) and concentrated nitric acid reported highest ever production and sales. Many of the leading manufacturers of nitro-aromatic chemicals in India have proposed capacity expansion which is expected to further lead to the growth in demand for nitric acid in near future. This augurs well for the company.

Deepak Fertilisers’ current capacity is close to 840,000 metric tonne per annum (MTPA), but most of which is used for captive consumption with only 160,000 MTPA available for merchant sale. With the new Dahej plant, the company will be able to provide an incremental 148,000 MTPA.

“We cater to nitro-aromatics, dyes, defense, agrochemicals and pharma sectors which are growing rapidly. Some of our key customers have already announced their expansion plans and thus we are expecting a rise in demand for nitric acid. We are aligning our expansion plans with those of our customers, so as to cater to their demands,” explained Paresh Trivedi, president - chemicals business, DFPCL.

Most of the company's manufacturing facilities, which include chemicals, TAN and fertilisers, are based in Taloja and this would be its first foray into Gujarat state. “There have been significant developments in the recent past which have contributed to the growth of nitric acid demand in the Gujarat region. A manufacturing facility in Dahej will bring us closer to our key customers,” added Trivedi.

The project, land for which has already been acquired, is scheduled to be completed by H2 of 2018.

One of the leading producers and importers of industrial chemicals in India, the company broadly serves in two segments: solvents and acids. The company’s Taloja facility manufactures a broad range of industrial chemicals such as iso propyl alcohol, various grades of nitric acid and liquid carbon dioxide. DFPCL caters to a number of industries such as pharmaceuticals, aromatics, paints, dyes intermediates, fertilisers and pesticides, etc.