Deepak Nitrite capex ₹3,720 crore for Dahej plants

Board clears fresh manufacturing complex at Dahej

Deepak Nitrite’s material wholly owned subsidiary, Deepak Chem Tech Ltd (DCTL), has received board approval to set up a new manufacturing complex to produce phenol, acetone and isopropyl alcohol (IPA). The project includes greenfield infrastructure capex with an aggregate investment of about ₹3,500 crore, which the company said will be firmed up during detailed engineering. DCTL indicated the project will be funded through a suitable mix of debt and equity. The announcement adds to the group’s ongoing build-out of polycarbonate (PC) related manufacturing in India.

The proposed units are planned at Dahej in Gujarat, as disclosed in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange dated April 9. DCTL expects to begin operations at all the new plants in the fiscal year ending March 2028. The new phenol and acetone capacities are intended to support downstream polycarbonate resins production.

What capacities DCTL plans to add

DCTL’s board approved the setup of three key product lines: phenol, acetone, and IPA. The company specified that 1 KTA equals 1,000 tonnes in one year. The planned scale is large enough to materially expand the group’s presence in these basic building blocks used across several chemical value chains.

The approved capacities are 300 KTA of phenol, 185 KTA of acetone, and 100 KTA of IPA. These additions are separate from the existing capacities housed under Deepak Phenolics, another wholly owned subsidiary of Deepak Nitrite. The company has positioned the new complex as an incremental capacity build rather than a replacement of current production.

Integration plan: phenol and acetone to feed polycarbonate

Deepak Nitrite said the new phenol and acetone capacity would ultimately be integrated to produce polycarbonate resins (PC). This integration is central to the company’s broader strategy of creating a more complete chain from upstream intermediates to polymers. Once completed, the company said it would be among the most integrated producers of PC from phenol and acetone.

DCTL has already signed agreements to acquire and shift a PC plant from Germany to India. In disclosures elsewhere in the provided material, the PC asset being relocated has a capacity of 165,000 metric tonnes and is presently located at Stade, Germany, with relocation planned to Dahej, Gujarat.

How this compares with existing Deepak Phenolics capacity

The new proposed capacities will come on top of Deepak Nitrite’s existing scale in the same products. Under Deepak Phenolics, the company already has capacity of 330 KTA phenol, 200 KTA acetone and 80 KTA IPA. The Dahej additions therefore represent a major step-up in the group’s total available capacity pool.

The company also stated that the existing capacity utilisation in phenol and acetone has been running at 100% in these categories. The investment, as described in one of the reports included in the supplied text, is aimed at enhancing production capacity of these flagship products.

Separate fluorochemicals push: ₹220 crore multi-purpose facility

Alongside the large Dahej complex, DCTL’s board also approved an investment of around ₹220 crore to support its foray into specialty fluorochemicals. The plan is described as a multi-purpose manufacturing facility. With this, the total announced investment across the two approvals comes to about ₹3,720 crore.

While the supplied text does not provide product-level details for the fluorochemicals facility, the approval indicates Deepak Nitrite is building optionality beyond commodity-linked intermediates into specialty chemistry.

Stock market reaction and disclosed funding mix

Deepak Nitrite shares jumped 3.97% to ₹1,878.35 after the board approval for the new manufacturing complex was reported. The company stated that the ₹3,500 crore capex would be funded through a mix of debt and equity, aligning with the scale of the investment and the multi-year construction period.

In another report included in the input, the cost was also described as Rs 35 billion, which is equivalent to ₹3,500 crore, and was cited as $107 million. The time frame in the supplied material points to phased commissioning, with additional capacity for IPA, phenol and acetone to be put in place over three years.

How the capex fits into the wider PC resins pipeline

The new phenol-acetone-IPA complex is positioned as a support layer for Deepak’s polycarbonate ambitions. The supplied text also references a board approval dated November 13, 2024 for ₹5,000 crore to build a greenfield PC resins project at Dahej, Gujarat, including infrastructure capex. It further notes agreements with Trinseo Deutschland Anlagengesellschaft mbH and Trinseo Europe GmbH for acquisition of PC manufacturing assets and a PC technology license, respectively.

The same material states that the PC manufacturing project is expected to be commissioned by the fourth quarter of FY 2027-28. Separately, it notes that the company’s PC resins project targets Phase-I capacity of 165 ktpa and is intended to replace imports, with domestic demand described as being fully met by imports of 240 ktpa in CY23.

Key project facts at a glance

Market impact: what investors are likely tracking

The immediate market focus is on execution, timelines, and integration benefits. The company has disclosed that phenol and acetone additions are intended to integrate into PC resins, which tightens control over key inputs. Investors are also likely to watch how the debt-equity mix evolves once detailed engineering firms up the final cost.

The supplied text also points to dependencies in the wider PC chain, including the note that the company has not finalised any BPA technology transfer partner as yet for PC manufacturing. That makes upstream capacity additions meaningful, but not sufficient on their own, for full downstream integration.

Conclusion

Deepak Nitrite, through DCTL, has cleared a ₹3,500 crore greenfield complex for phenol, acetone and IPA at Dahej and a separate ₹220 crore investment into specialty fluorochemicals. The phenol and acetone expansion is designed to feed into polycarbonate resins, supported by agreements to relocate a PC plant from Germany to India. The company has stated the new plants are expected to begin operations in the fiscal year ending March 2028, with further PC project milestones also guided for FY 2027-28 in the supplied disclosures.