In a move to improve its backward integration skills and promote operational self-sufficiency, agri solutions provider Coromandel International Limited has inaugurated a third sulphuric acid unit at its fertiliser complex in Visakhapatnam.

The factory, whose daily capacity is 1,650 metric tonnes, was built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

According to Coromandel International, the new capacity will increase the company's sulphuric acid capacity from the current six lakh tonnes per year to 11 lakh tonnes per year.

This new plant will support the company’s requirement for downstream processes for phosphoric acid and phosphatic fertilizer production, it added.

Pointing out that the new facility was commissioned in a record 18 months, Coromandel International Ltd executive vice chairman Arun Alagappan said the investment is in line with Coromandel's strategy of strengthening its backward integration and ensuring supply security of key raw materials for achieving self-reliance in operations.