ITC arm to invest Rs 1,100 cr in Bhadrachalam paper plant - The Hindu Business Line
Production capacity to go up to 6 lakh tonnes a year
March 10, 2010
Looking ahead
The expansion project has received all the
necessary clearances.
The investment is being met by internal accruals.
The company has decided to make Andhra Pradesh the base for expansion.
The Paper Boards and Speciality Papers Division of
ITC Ltd has sewn up plans to invest Rs 1,100 crore
in its expansion project at Bhadrachalam in Andhra
Pradesh.
"Work on the expansion project, which entails
ramping up the manufacturing capacity from 4 lakh
tonnes of paper a year to 6 lakh tonnes a year
will begin shortly," according to Mr Pradeep
Dhobale, Chief Executive of Paperboards and
Speciality Papers Division.
Mr Dhobale said that the project has received all
the necessary clearances and the Government nod,
and work will start next month. It is likely to be
operational by December 2011. The entire
investment for the project is being met through
internal accruals.
ITC has three manufacturing units. The
Bhadrachalam facility having capacity to produce 4
lakh tonnes which includes 2.5 lakh tonnes of
packaging and board material and 1.5 lakh tonnes
of paper. The plant near Coimbatore has a
production capacity of about one lakh tonnes a
year and the West Bengal unit can produce high
quality paper of about 30,000 tonnes a year.
The Tamil Nadu plant was acquired from Ballarpur
Industries. Located at the foothills of the
Nilgiris, it has limitations in terms of taking up
further expansion. The West Bengal unit is
focussed on making decorative laminates, fine
paper that is useful to produce small Bibles and
dictionaries.
The paper division contributes about Rs 2,500
crore in revenues and around Rs 200 crore come
through exports, Mr Dhobale said.
AP focus
The plant located in Andhra Pradesh is supported
by a vibrant farming community. The pulp is
procured from not just local farmers but from
several other districts in the region.
The social forestry initiative of ITC is also
playing a critical role in encouraging farmers to
take up cultivation of eucalyptus, subabul and
casuarina.
Sharing all the learning with the farm community,
ITC research and development teams are providing
critical inputs that encourage farmers to take up
cultivation cost-effectively. "We have therefore
decided to make Andhra Pradesh our base for
expansion," he said.
The paper industry in the country, now estimated
to be about Rs 25,000 crore, typically grows in
sync with the economic growth. Additional
capacities are being augmented to make up for the
demand-supply gap, he said.
