The Hindu Business Line : Shasun to buy water from Chemfab Alkalies

SHASUN Chemicals and Drugs Ltd has agreed to buy 500 cubic metres of water a day from Chemfab Alkalies Ltd. The agreement will take effect once Chemfab Alkalies' desalination plant goes on stream.

Chemfab Alkalies has received the in-principle approval from the Government of Pondicherry for the Rs 30-crore desalination project, which is to be implemented in two stages. When fully completed, the plant will produce 4,000 cubic metres of water a day.

However, the first phase of the project (Rs 12 crore) will produce 1,000 cubic metres of water a day. "Twice what we need," Dr C.H. Krishnamurthy Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of Chemfab Alkalies, told Business Line, adding that the surplus water would be sold to industries in the Pondicherry region, such as Shasun.

The desalination plant will enable Chemfab Alkalies to expand the capacity of the 110 tonnes-per-day plant by 50 per cent, Dr Rao said. Without the plant, the company would not be able to expand because the State Government would not give permission to tap additional ground water.

State Bank of India has agreed to lend Rs 8 crore to Phase-I of the project.

Chemfab Alkalies is a part of a tripartite agreement with associate company Membrane Technologies Ltd and Chemitics International of Canada. Under the agreement, Chemfab will invest Rs 1.5 crore in putting up facilities to purify brine (salt water) before it is fed into the membrane chambers for producing caustic soda.

The technology for removing sulphate comes from the Canadian company. It will help lower the consumption of various chemicals added to brine. The resultant saving will pay back the investment in about 18 months, Dr Rao said.

The equipment will be manufactured and sold in India by Membrane Technologies, a company promoted by Dr Rao. The potential customers are the 40-odd caustic soda producers in the country, who have a total installed capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per year. Chemfab Alkalies will do the maintenance and servicing at the customers' end , Dr Rao said.

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