Chennai (The Hawk): Asian Paints Ltd., a prominent paint company, will invest roughly Rs 2,650 crore to manufacture white cement in the UAE and vinyl acetate ethylene emulsion (VAE) and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) in India.
The manufacturing of the white cement will take place in a 60:40 joint venture in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Riddhi Siddhi Crusher & Land Transport (Riddhi Siddhi), Fujairah, UAE, Associated Soap Stone Distributing Company Private Limited (ASD), India, and others. The VAE and VAM investment will be made in India.
The estimated cost of the VAE and VAM projects is Rs 2,100 crore, and the cost of the white cement is Rs 50 crore.
The three-year investment will be spread out across two years for white cement and the cost of the land for VAE and VAM.
Asian Paints claims that the investment is dependent upon conclusive agreements being reached, including a technical licence agreement for the production of VAM and VAE, as well as gaining all relevant regulatory and other permissions.
The aforementioned production facility has an established capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year for VAM and 150,000 tonnes per year for VAE.
A vital component in the production of VAE is VAM.
The company now imports these products, thus a domestic production will result in cost savings, according to the company.
VAE is regarded as the emulsion of the future and a crucial ingredient in the production of environmentally friendly paints.
Additionally, the production of VAM and VAE would offer significant, long-term cost savings, replacing the company's reliance on imports.
The construction of a facility for the production of VAM would be based on a licenced technology agreement with the US company Kellogg Brown & Root LLC (KBR), worth $7.3 billion.
The UAE joint venture would produce and export white cement and clinker, according to Asian Paints.
The manufacturing facility in question, which will be built in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, will have a starting annual capacity of 265,000 tonnes.
The company also announced that clinker grinding facilities would be built in India.
(Inputs from Agencies)
