Modi Biotech Private Limited (MBPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMCG firm Modi Naturals, announced setting up a 210-KLD (kilo litres per day) distillery to manufacture ethanol in Chhattisgarh by investing about ₹250 crore in the next two years.

MBPL has received in-principle approval for a 210 KLD distillery to manufacture ethanol from the Central Government, the company said in a statement Wednesday. In the first phase, 110 KLD will be completed within a year, for which the company will invest ₹160 crore.

“The project will be funded with a combination of internal accruals and debt for which the company has already received the in-principle approval from banks. The company has already purchased land for the project and is in the process of ordering plant and machinery, and aims to commission the plant in the 3rd quarter of the next fiscal,” the statement said.

“This project will help the company have a diversified portfolio of businesses,” said Anil Modi, chairman of the DD Modi group. Recently, Modi Naturals also forayed into the ready-to-eat segment with the launch of its peanut butter range under ‘Oleev Kitchen’ brand.

The Centre has been targetting 20 per cent blending of ethanol with petrol by 2025. Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey last week said that about 1,500 crore litre of ethanol will be required for meeting the target, of which about 760 crore litres may come from sugar sector and another 740 crore litres from the grain. The current grain-to-ethanol capacity is about 260 crore litres.

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