Borouge, a global provider of innovative plastic solutions is very upbeat on the Indian market, and expects a significant part of its global manufacturing capacity under-expansion to cater to the Indian market.
In 2014 Borouge is expanding the annual production capacity of polyolefins at its Abu Dhabi-based plant from 2 million tpa (tonnes per annum) to 4.5 million tpa. Two new polyethylene (PE) plants and two new polypropylene (PP) plants will start up at Borouge-3 expansion plant along with a new low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit delivering highly specialised polymers.
Meanwhile, Borouge will expand the annual capacity of its compounding manufacturing plant in Shanghai from 50,000 tonnes to 90,000 tonnes and has recently completed a $70 million Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi.
Addressing a press media, Wim Roels, CEO of Borouge's Marketing & Sales Company, said that Borouge-3 expansion will cater to polymers especially for the wires and cables industry. With this, Borouge will increase its exposure to the Indian electric cables market. Currently, Borouge only provides "jacketing solutions" for electrical cables in India, noted Roels.
Anil Krishna, the newly-appointed General Manager for Borouge (India) Pvt Ltd, said that power distribution was a big area that Borouge was looking at in India. Special Borouge polymers used in underground high-voltage cables can help in drastically reducing technical and commercial losses seen in overhead transmission lines.
Wim Roels mentioned that India would eventually need to use direct current (DC) transmission lines to transmit electricity over long distances, with minimum losses. These high-voltages lines need special insulation that Borouge is equipped to supply. In China, Borouge is associated with two long-distance HVDC lines, noted Roels.
Both Krishna and Roels explained that even though underground HVDC cables have higher initial costs, their sheer efficiency results in low lifecycle costs.
Across all its application areas – advanced packaging, piping (water, oil & gas, wastewater), automotive and cables – Borouge expects higher offtake from the Indian market. India is a very potential market with per capita consumption of only 6-7 kg per year of polyolefins, which is one third of China, noted Roels.
