By IANS,
Chennai : The Rs.9.69-billion Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL) says it will place an order for a new paper line at its Pugalur plant in Tamil Nadu next month.
The paper major plans to increase its capacity by 155,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 400,000 tpa on an outlay of Rs.7.25 billion.
The company announced it would commence trial production in October 2009.
“We expect to place the order for the paper machine next month,” TNPL deputy managing director A. Velliangiri told IANS.
While he declined to name the companies that have submitted bids, it is learnt Europe’s Voith Paper is one of the major contenders.
Velliangiri said an application for environmental clearance for the new paper line has been submitted to the central ministry of environment and forests.
TNPL, the largest exporter of wood-free paper has decided to put renewed focus on exports. “We expect to ship out around 45,000 tonnes this year,” Velliangiri said.
For the current fiscal, the company hopes to roll out around 245,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper.
The company is also investing Rs.550 million to upgrade its existing machinery.
The company’s daily production has risen to 720 tonnes from 520 tonnes following the completion of its Rs.5.65 billion mill development plan (MDP), Velliangiri said. The company now produces 100 tonnes of surplus pulp daily, and is exploring selling it in the open market at around Rs.28,000 a tonne.
Velliangiri said TNPl was looking for a partner for its proposed IT park in Chennai, and will start construction of a new cement mill at Pugalur later this year.