Reliance starts capacity expansion work for India polyester projects
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has begun implementing its planned world-scale projects in India across the polyester chain. This is RIL’s largest capacity expansion in the sector and is aimed at consolidating its position as the world’s largest integrated polyester producer.
These investments in new polyester capacity will also strengthen India’s position as a global manufacturing hub for textiles and fibre, the company said.
Global supply constraints, substantial price increases and uncertain outlook for cotton availability is creating considerable substitution opportunities for polyester products like polyester filament yarn (PFY) and polyester staple fibre (PSF), according to Reliance.
It is expected that polyester will capture around 80% of incremental global fibre demand of around 2.9 million tons/year over the medium-to-long term. Demand for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is already India’s fastest-growing polymer, is also poised for exponential growth due to continued demand in the bottling, packaging and food and beverages sectors, Reliance said.
With its strong manufacturing presence in India and Malaysia, cost leadership position and wide product range, Reliance is uniquely positioned to benefit from this market growth, it said.
RIL has planned its capacity expansion in phases over the next few years. This includes:
* A planned capacity of 2.30 million tons of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) at Dahej with the ability to increase it by another 1.15 million tons of PTA at a later stage. These plants will be integrated with the paraxylene plants at Jamnagar for raw material, and will in turn cater to the new polyester plants being constructed simultaneously.
* 395,000 tons of PFY and 140,000 tons of polyester texturized yarn at Silvassa.
* 540,000 tons of PET at Dahej with the option to add another 540,000 tons of PET at the same location at a later stage.
* 290,000 tons of PSF at Dahej.
These plants will be integrated with Reliance’s captive PTA and mono ethylene glycol (MEG), the company said.
All the above projects are under various stages of implementation ranging from technology licensing, basic engineering and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
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