Coromandel International Ltd’s Rs.225-crore expansion project will be put up for approval by AP Pollution Control Board at a public hearing here on December 8.
Plant performance
CIL belonging to Murugappa Group will increase the phosphoric acid production from 700 to 1,000 tonnes per day and upgrade of phosphorus pentoxide and other ancillary facilities at the existing fertilizer plant complex at Sriharipuram here.
The management said of the total investment aimed at reducing the emission of sulphur dioxide and improving the plant performance, they would earmark Rs.26 crore on environment management programmes. Once green nod and other approvals are obtained from the statutory authorities, the project will be completed in 18 months.
The existing plant set up in 1967 which became fully owned by Murugappa Group in 1995 had completed expansion to increase its total production capacity from 2,700 tonnes to 3,900 tonnes per day.
EIA study
The environment impact assessment (EIA) study, which was conducted by Cholamandalam MS Risk Services states the company had taken all steps to adhere to emission parameters and discharge standards as recommended by the authorities from time to time.
The company has online environment monitoring systems for sulphuric acid and continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations as directed by the AP Pollution Control Board.
The fertilizer plant complex is located in 436.48 acres in the Visakhapatnam Port Industrial Zone.
The complex houses rock phosphate storage and handling, phosphoric acid plant, sulphuric acid plant, ammonia storage tanks and NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potash) fertilizer granulation plants and bagging plants.
‘No pollution’
With zero land acquisition, the expansion project in the existing area will not cause any pollution, the company states in the EIA.
