Kiri Industries targets H1 FY28 copper-complex commissioning

Kiri Industries Limited plans phased commissioning of its Rs 13,300 crore integrated copper and fertilizer complex from H1 FY28, with a 500,000-metric-tonnes-per-annum copper unit at its centre. Construction work is on a 36-month timeline commencing 1 October 2025, while equipment deliveries, civil work and supporting infrastructure are progressing.

What is Kiri Industries building at Jafrabad?

Kiri Industries is building an integrated copper smelting, refining and fertilizer complex at Jafrabad, Gujarat, through subsidiaries Indo Asia Copper Limited and IndoAsia Agrotech Fertilizers Limited. The plan expands beyond dyes, dye intermediates and basic chemicals into non-ferrous metals and agricultural inputs. Management cites the site’s proximity to Pipavav Port, alongside logistics and energy infrastructure, as location advantages for the new operations.

The copper unit is designed for 500,000 metric tonnes per annum, or MTPA. Its intended product range includes copper cathodes, copper wire rods, copper foil and copper tubes, while refining is intended to recover gold, silver and selenium. The fertilizer chain is designed to use sulphur dioxide from smelting to make sulphuric acid, which would then be processed into phosphoric acid and NP/NPK fertilizers, meaning nitrogen-phosphorus and nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

When is Kiri Industries expected to commission the project?

Kiri Industries says phased commissioning will commence in H1 FY28, with downstream value-added facilities planned ahead of the smelting complex. This is the company’s disclosed schedule rather than a statement that the entire complex will start operating simultaneously. The sequence covers copper facilities, acid conversion, fertilizer production and bagging capacity, which have different equipment and construction requirements.

Construction work has a stated 36-month completion timeline commencing 1 October 2025. Kiri Industries says procurement of major plant and equipment has advanced substantially and deliveries have begun at the site. Civil, foundation and structural works are under way across key operating units, while a dedicated jetty, desalination facilities and raw-material handling systems are progressing as planned.

The commissioning target follows the conclusion of the DyStar-related legal matter, which Kiri Industries says created capacity for strategic investment. Management says it evaluated more than 16 industrial opportunities before selecting copper for large-scale capital deployment. The presentation places the complex within a diversification strategy, while the standalone H1 FY27 revenue mix remained 55% dye intermediates, 31% dyes and 14% basic chemicals.

How much will Kiri Industries spend and how is it funded?

Kiri Industries estimates total spending of about Rs 13,300 crore across the copper complex, fertilizer project, renewable-power project and jetty. The copper complex accounts for about Rs 8,100 crore, including infrastructure such as a desalination plant and conveyor belt. The fertilizer project is estimated at about Rs 3,600 crore, while the renewable-power project and jetty together are expected to require about Rs 1,600 crore.

The proposed equity contribution is about Rs 4,000 crore, of which Rs 1,036 crore had been infused in September 2024. Kiri Industries says the remaining equity is to be infused in phases, but the presentation does not provide a debt amount, lender list or detailed financing schedule. It discloses a project internal rate of return, or IRR, of about 25%; this is management’s projection rather than a reported operating return.

What demand and supply case does Kiri Industries cite for copper?

Kiri Industries bases its copper rationale on stated Indian refined-copper demand of about 1.8 million tonnes against domestic refined output of about 0.8 million tonnes, implying a structural supply gap of about 1 million tonnes. The company says India is a net importer of refined copper and identifies power, infrastructure, electric vehicles, railways and construction as domestic demand sources. Its planned 500,000-MTPA copper unit equals half of the stated 1 million-tonne supply gap, although the presentation provides no forecast market-share outcome.

The company also cites greater copper intensity in electric vehicles, stating they require about two to three times the copper used in internal-combustion-engine vehicles. Renewable energy, grid infrastructure, energy storage, artificial intelligence, data centres and electronics are listed as additional demand drivers. On supply, Kiri Industries points to long mine-development timelines and declining ore grades, but does not provide commodity-price assumptions or a date-specific copper-demand forecast.

For raw materials, Kiri Industries says it is pursuing long-term concentrate sourcing from Chile and Peru in South America, Australia, the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also says discussions with suppliers are continuing for long-term sourcing arrangements for copper and fertilizer operations. The stated integration mechanism is that smelting gases feed acid production, while refining can yield precious-metal by-products; management says this structure is intended to support project economics and cost competitiveness.

Conclusion

Kiri Industries has set out an industrial expansion with a Rs 13,300 crore budget, 500,000-MTPA copper capacity and 1,050,000-MTPA fertilizer and bagging capacity. The plan would shift the company from its H1 FY27 standalone mix of dyes, dye intermediates and basic chemicals toward a linked metals-and-fertilizer production chain while retaining its specialty-chemicals platform.

The next disclosed milestones are phased commissioning from H1 FY28 and progress against the 36-month construction timeline commencing 1 October 2025. Other disclosed matters to watch are phased infusion of the remaining proposed Rs 4,000 crore equity, the outcome of long-term raw-material sourcing discussions and whether downstream facilities are commissioned before the smelting complex as planned.