Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL) said that its fully-owned subsidiary — Smartchem Technologies Limited (STL) has broken ground on its INR 2,200 crores technical ammonium nitrate plant in Gopalpur, Odisha.

The technical ammonium nitrate complex will be built in Tata Steel Industrial Park. Its foundation was laid by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The project will have a capacity of 377 KTPA. It will integrate technology from Casale to ensure the lowest possible emission.

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals expects to complete the technical ammonium nitrate project by August 2024 having already wrapped up 50% of the engineering work.

The piling work will commence from January 2022.

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals said that the technical ammonium nitrate plant is located strategically near the major mining hubs as well as the Gopalpur port to address domestic demands and seize export opportunities.

The Indian chemicals and fertiliser manufacturer will create nearly 1,500 jobs during the project phase and 325 roles during the operation phase.

The new technical ammonium nitrate plant in Odisha is also anticipated to produce 4.5MW power from the waste heat steam.

Sailesh Mehta — Chairman and Managing Director of Smartchem Technologies Limited said: “STL is partnering Odisha to support growth in the Mining & Infrastructure Sector and this complex is the first step to accomplish our ten-year-old dream to expand operations in the Eastern Region and come closer to our end users. Technical Ammonium Nitrate is a very important raw material that will fuel the infrastructure, economy, and development of the nation.

“We are looking forward to reducing our dependence on imports and the Gopalpur Industrial Park’s strategic location may help us do that very quicky in the near future. Tata SEZL can attract ancillary units and become a hub for development.”

  Casale, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals, Gopalpur, India, Naveen Patnaik, Odisha, Sailesh Mehta, Smartchem Technologies, Tata Steel Industrial Park, technical ammonium nitrate