Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertlizers Ltd expects to soon start production from its new gypsum products unit. Speaking to Projectmonitor, P.G. Deshpande, a senior RCF official said that the new unit near RCF's Trombay fertiliser unit in Mumbai was likely to start production by April-end. Set up with an investment of Rs 75 crore, the greenfield unit will have an annual capacity of 14 lakh sq. metres of gypsum wall panels per year, he explained. It will also make wall putty and other gypsum-based products that would be primarily used in light construction and interior designing.
Public sector RCF has sourced technology from Australia-based Rapid Building Systems Pty Ltd, Deshpande noted, adding that the Australian partner would have no equity (financial) participation. Meanwhile, RCF recently signed an agreement with domestic company Future Products Pvt. Ltd to form an equal joint venture for the marketing of the gypsum products from the new unit.
An industry source indicated that First Products has been promoted by Mahimtura Consultants Pvt. Ltd, a structural engineering company, and Hiranandi Developers, a leading Mumbai-based real estate developer. Projectmonitor could not confirm this till the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, RCF also expects its similar gypsum products unit in Kerala to be commissioned by December this year. The unit is coming up with in equal joint venture with Fertilizers & Chemicals, Travancore, a public sector unit. Set up with an investment of Rs 90 crore, the unit is shaping up at Ambalamandalam near Kochi, in the environs of FACT's existing manufacturing unit. When the foundation stone for the unit was laid in May 2008, the project was to commission by June this year. RBS of Australia is the technology partner for this project as well.
For both RCF and FACT, the diversification into gypsum wall panels is a value-added proposition. These companies generate huge amounts of gypsum—a byproduct generated when phosphoric acid (a fertiliser) is manufactured from rock phosphate. About five tonnes of waste gypsum is generated for every tonne of phosphoric acid produced.
According to earlier reports, RCF even intends to earn carbon credits through the gypsum wall units in Maharashtra and Kerala. It is estimated that a phospho-gypsum wall of 36 m2 could replace 3,960 bricks, forestalling tonnes of carbon emissions that would have resulted from the brick-making process. RBS of Australia, it is learnt, has pioneered the technology for converting waste gypsum into panels that could be used even for load-bearing walls. Called Rapidwall, this technology has been used worldwide in townhouses, offices, hospitals, resorts, factories etc.
Source : ProjectsMonitor
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