GACL rolls out major expansion plan worth Rs 3,500 cr

Leading caustic soda manufacturer is planning to set up a 120 Mw coal-based power project

State-owned Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Limited (GACL) is planning major expansion plans as well as new projects with investment pegged at Rs  3,500 crore.

The country’s leading caustic soda manufacturer is also planning to set up a 120 Mw coal-based power project.

According to an official statement, the expansion projects involve augmenting the existing capacities of caustic soda, chloromethane, and phosphoric acid besides caustic potash at its Dahej plant.

While the caustic soda capacity is being expanded by 1200 tonnes per day (TPD), that of chloromethane will be expanded by 600 TPD, phosphoric acid by 300 TPD and the caustic potash to 120 TPD.

Add to that, a 120 Mw coal-based power project will also come up at Dahej as part of the expansion plan.

GACL’s Rs  3,500 crore investment plans also include new facilities in various parts of the country.

For instance, the company is also exploring the possibility of setting up a new caustic soda plant at Bhavnagar, Gujarat with a capacity of 600 TPD and another new plant in Eastern India with a capacity of 300 TPD.  

Alternatively the company may also acquire an existing Caustic Soda manufacturing plant with a similar capacity in Eastern part of the country. It needs to be mentioned here that the state-owned company posted a 52.68 per cent growth in its net profit for the first quarter of financial year 2014-15.

The company registered the Q1 net profit at Rs  56.95 crore as against Rs  37.30 crore for the corresponding period last year. The then Managing Director of GACL, Atanu Chakraborty, IAS, had stated that the company has achieved the sales turnover of Rs  497.13 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2014 as against Rs  414.59 crore in the corresponding period of previous year registering an increase of 19.90 per cent.