GAIL , US firm in talks for Rs 400-cr polymer plant

GAIL (India) Ltd plans to set up a biodegradable polymer plant at a cost of nearly Rs 400 crore. The company is in talks with US-based petrochemical major Dupont for technology transfer for the same.

"We are in discussions with Dupont, which already has such a plant in the US, to share its technical know-how with us. The plant will have a proposed capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum," GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Proshanto Banerjee said. The biodegradable polymer plant would be the first of its kind in the country, he added.

Banerjee told Business Standard that if the discussions with Dupont were fruitful, a technology transfer agreement would be signed with the company.

GAIL will appoint consultants for preparation of the detailed feasibility report which will spell out the optimum capacity and investment required. Banerjee said the detailed feasibility report was expected to be completed in four months' time.

Sources said the plant would be located at GAIL's Pata petrochemical complex in Uttar Pradesh. GAIL uses natural gas to produce polyethylene here.

With the new plant, GAIL will be able to make polyethylene biodegradable, which will render plastics more acceptable for usage. At present, biodegradable plastics are imported.

On why GAIL chose Dupont for technological co-operation, Banerjee said the US-based company had created an inexpensive polymer that decomposes without harming soil or the environment. A similar plant based on Dupont technology was already operating in Japan, he added.