The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board will undertake a public hearing on Thursday for the Rs. 225-crore expansion project of Coromandel International Ltd belonging to the Murugappa Group.
The Rs. 295 billion conglomerate is planning to increase the phosphoric acid production from 700 to 1,000 tonne per day at the existing fertilizer manufacturing plant at Sriharipuram. A company spokesman told reporters here on Wednesday that they would “adopt best technologies available” in the world to all the regulatory norms.
The environment impact assessment (EIA) study has been conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest-approved agency. The study is in favour of the company stating that Coromandel had taken all steps to adhere to emission parameters and discharge standards.
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The Coromandel spokesman said the baseline environmental parameters were observed to be well within the limits. He said the EIA study also determined that with zero land acquisition, the expansion project in the existing factory premises would not lead to any increase in environmental footprint.
The proposed expansion project will generate direct and indirect employment for 275. The company proposes to spend Rs.26 crore towards environment management activities as part of the expansion project.
The company caters to 70 per cent of farming needs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the remaining in other parts of the country.
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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.