Perth, March 9 (IANS) An Australian company promoted by a New Delhi-born industrialist Vikas Rambal Monday announced plans to construct a $2.5-billion urea manufacturing plant at the Shotts Industrial Park at Collie in Western Australia.
With construction due to commence in early 2010, the urea plant being set up by Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers will generate 1,500 jobs during the three-year construction phase and around 200 permanent jobs once operations begin, the company said.
“The plant has the capacity to produce 2 million tonnes of urea per annum, and while we are looking at the opportunity to supply local markets, the majority will be exported for global use, especially to India,” Rambal, 41, said in a statement.
In India, his company is registered as Perdaman Agro with interests in renewable energy, especially in grid interactive photo-voltaic solar power plants and biodiesel refining activities.
The group is considering wind mills in Madhya Pradesh to generate 50 MW of wind power at an estimated investment of Rs.3.5 billion. It is also engaged in the bio-fuel aspects of renewable energy through its Jatropha development in India.
Rambal’s group has also planned a 50-acre Jatropa nursery in Gwalior district with plans to grow the plant in some 100,000 acres by 2010 to be used to make bio-fuels in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
Born in New Delhi in 1967, Rambal is a chemical engineer and spent the first years of his career working with Bharat Petroleum in India and was involved in a wide range of projects including refineries, apart from experience in the fertilizers business.
His group has business interest in coal, bio-diesel and chemicals and fertilizers.