Coromandel International Limited, an agri solutions provider, has commenced the project activity to set up its phosphoric acid-sulphuric acid complex facility at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. The company signed key contracts with global technology partners. With an estimated outlay of ₹1,000 crore, the project is expected to be commissioned in two years’ time.
The proposed 650 ton per day (tpd) phosphoric acid facility is designed with advanced DA-HF (dihydrate attack-hemihydrate filtration) process technology and automated DCS system. This will enhance backward integration capacities and provide stable supplies of phosphoric acid for the company’s fertiliser manufacturing by replacing more than 50% of Kakinada plant’s imported acid requirement.
Coromandel also plans to set up a 1,800 tpd sulphuric acid plant to meet the captive needs in phosphoric acid manufacturing besides augmenting power from the waste heat generation. Phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid are used as key intermediates for manufacturing phosphatic fertilizers like DAP and NPKs.
Currently, the company’s fertilizer plants at Visakhapatnam and Ennore are fully integrated with captive sulphuric and phosphoric acid facilities and the proposed expansion plan at Kakinada will make the unit also an integrated complex.
As per the press release, with a capacity of around two million tons, Coromandel’s Kakinada plant is India’s second largest phosphatic fertiliser facility and contributes close to 15% of the nation’s NPK fertilizer output. The plant facility also acts as a habitat for countless diverse species of birds, while greatly contributing to biodiversity and conservation of the ecosystem.
Arun Alagappan, Executive Chairman, Coromandel International Limited stated, “This investment signifies a pivotal moment in Coromandel’s journey towards strengthening its self-sufficiency goals in fertiliser manufacturing. Over the past few years, we have been building our upstream supply chain with investments in mining project and creating intermediate products’ capacity at Visakhapatnam for Phosphoric and Sulphuric acid. The proposed Plant in Kakinada will be built on par with the best technology standards globally and enable stable supplies of phosphatic fertilisers to the farming community. This is in line with Government’s vision of “Atma Nirbhar” Bharat in fertiliser sector besides creating employment opportunities in the state of Andhra Pradesh”.
