Morocco’s state-owned Office Cherifien de Phosphate (OCP) and India's Kribhco have announced a 50:50 joint venture to develop a large-scale greenfield NPK fertilizer plant in India's Andhra Pradesh state.

This plant will require an initial investment of approximately $230 million and will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of NPK fertilizers, an OCP statement said.

The project, at Krishnapatnam, also includes the development of logistical infrastructure in the region.

The JV shall provide quality indigenous NPK fertilizers to Indian farmers by leveraging on Kribhco’s deep knowledge of market and farmers' requirement, as well as OCP’s world-class industrial capabilities and expertise. Fertilizers are one of 25 core sectors identified for “Make in India” campaign by the Government of India.

OCP chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab said: “OCP has always been, and remains fully committed to contribute to India’s agricultural development. We believe large scale local investments designed to respond to farmer’s specific needs is the key ingredient to successful agricultural ecosystem development. As one of the major cooperatives in India, Kribhco is an excellent partner to develop a farmer-oriented agricultural input joint-venture. This partnership is designed to be truly a win-win project for all the stakeholders involved but foremost for India’s agriculture and particularly for Indian farmers.”

Kribhco chairman Dr Chandra Pal Singh said: “The proposed JV is a unique example of global cooperation between two leading organizations joining hands for making available phosphate based fertilizer products to Indian farmers by channelizing their respective strengths. Farmers of the country shall benefit with continued supply of various NPK grade products based on best quality phosphate in the world.”

The joint venture is expected to be the first step in a broader strategic cooperation between the groups that could include Kribhco’s investment in a phosphoric acid unit in Morocco, the statement said. - TradeArabia News Service