Reliance Industries commences implementation of large polyester projects in India.Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has commenced implementation of 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 global supply constraints, substantial price increase and uncertain outlook for cotton availability is creating considerable substitution opportunities for polyester products like Polyester Filament Yarn (PFY) and Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF). It is expected that polyester will capture around 80% of incremental global fibre demand of around 2.9 million tons per annum 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 & beverages sectors. With its strong manufacturing presence in India & Malaysia, cost leadership position and wide product range, Reliance is uniquely positioned to benefit from this market growth.
RIL has planned its capacity expansion in phases over the next few years. This includes:
- A planned capacity of 2.30 million tons of 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 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 Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG). All the above projects are under various stages of implementation ranging from technology licensing, basic engineering and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. This capacity addition will further strengthen Reliance’s leadership position in the polyester sector.
