Tata Chemicals to set up plants in AP, Gujarat for Rs 565 crore

Will invest Rs 270 cr in soluble dietary fibre unit in AP and Rs 295 cr in silica unit in Gujarat

Tata Chemicals (TCL), part of $100 billion Tata Group, is setting up two facilities in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to manufacture soluble dietary fibres and silica with an investment of Rs 565 crore.

The Rs 10,650 crore chemical major said that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Andhra Pradesh on January 27, to seal a Rs 270 crore investment plan wherein a state-of-the-art biotechnology unit will be set-up in Nellore district for the manufacturing of soluble dietary fibres with cutting-edge health benefits.

Additionally, investments of Rs 295 crore have also been approved to set up a plant in the state of Gujarat for manufacturing precipitated highly dispersible silica.

R Mukundan, managing director & CEO, Tata Chemicals, said, "With our highly dispersible Silica investment in Gujarat, we are aiming to value add to our soda ash business, and through investment in nutritional solutions business in Andhra, we aim to ideally serve demanding and critical segments such of Early Life Nutrition (infant nutrition) and medical foods through ingredients, formulations and customised products."

While dispersible silica, a specialty chemicals, represents downstream value addition to TCL's soda ash business, precipitated silica has applications in several industries including rubber, coatings, pesticides and oral care and seven patents have already been filed for the company's product.