Ahmedabad: After being shut down for nearly six years, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited has re-started its methanol plant in Vadodara as a step towards fulfilling the government of India’s Aatma Nirbhar Bharat goal.
The restart of methanol plant will increase GSFC’s turnover by Rs 150 crore in the current financial year, said Arvind Agarwal, chairman and managing director of GSFC.
The plant with installed capacity of 525 metric tonnes per day was commissioned in 2013 and was operated for 11 months. But, due to non-viability, the plant was shut down in April 2014. Now, after more than 6 years, GSFC has re-started this plant, the company said in a media statement. Methanol is being produced from August 31 as per the prescribed specifications and quality, it said.
Re-start of GSFC’s Methanol plant is a step towards fulfilling Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, and will help in import substitution, according to the statement.
The plant is running smoothly and sales have started in the domestic market. The first consignment of 30 tonnes was dispatched on August 31. The plant will reach daily production of 470 tonnes by September 10. Methanol is used in many industrial applications like formaldehyde, API formulations, methyl amines, dyes & intermediates, paints, solvents, adhesives, pesticides etc. In the Indian market, the major application of methanol is in formaldehyde, which accounts for 60% of methanol consumption.
There are only two GNFC and Rashtriya Chemcials and Fertilizers Ltd are the only two companies producing methanol in India. Hence, the demand is met by imports primarily from Middle East countries, as per the statement.
