The public sector Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) has proposed to increase the capacity of its ammonia storage facility at Kochi Port in order to meet its increased production requirements.
The objective is to set up additional storage tanks in the port area with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes so that the company would be able to bring in bigger shipments, which would be more economical, Jaiveer Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, FACT told Business Line .
Right now, the existing capacity is only 10,000 tonnes and the capacity constraints in storage tanks have forced the company to depend on part shipments. The port has agreed to allot additional land adjacent to the present storage facility in Willingdon Island.
“We would adhere to all environment safety measures and create public awareness before proceeding with the project,” he said, adding that the company has envisaged an investment of ₹120 crore for this, which would be raised mainly through internal resources.
At present FACT is importing ammonia, which is cheaper than the ammonia produced in its own plant following the decision to stop ammonia production using LNG. Ammonia production is one of the core activities in fertiliser productions.
Material HandlingThe company has also held discussions with the port authorities to improve its material handling facilities to increase import of materials. FACT’s imports mainly consist of rock phosphate, sulphur, ammonia, urea, potash, complex fertiliser and so on.
Srivastava said FACT mainly depends on import for most of its raw material requirements and sourcing from foreign markets at reasonable prices and timely delivery have always been a problem. This has often affected production, he said.
To overcome this handicap the company is planning to source materials from global markets on the basis of long term tie-ups.