Reliance Pta Plant Shut After Technical Snag

Industry sources said repair work is currently going on and the plant will be back on track next week.

Full capacity, though, will be achieved only later.

Sources said that the shutdown has not affected the production of polyester filament yarn (PFY) and polyester staple fibre (PSF) at the Gujarat-based, Patalganga plant and Hazira plant.

The company had built up large stocks of purified terephthalic acid and had also been importing to meet the shortfall.

The shutdown will not effect polyester producers, as Reliance had stopped all outside sales some months back due to increasing captive consumption, sources said.

Earlier this year, Reliance's outside sales were between 3,000 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes per month.

The Reliance is India's only purified terephthalic acid producer with an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh tonnes and capable of producing upto 2.75 lakh tonnes.

The company is setting up two more PTA plants of 3.5-lakh tonne capacity each, one of which is getting commissioned this year. The company is also increasing its manufacturing capacity by 3.6 lakh tonne per annum. As this needs more purified terephthalic acid, the company has been cutting down outside supplies slowly.