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Asia

18 February 2026

NFL backs bentonite sulphur plant at Vijaipur

Written by Natalie Noor-Drugan

National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL) says its board has given in-principle approval to set up a bentonite sulphur (BS) plant at its Vijaipur unit, with a capacity of 25,000 t/a and an estimated capital cost of INR 1.04bn ($11.5m). NFL said there is currently no BS capacity at Vijaipur, and described the project as being at an initial financing stage, according to a 13 February 2026 filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The reason given for the new plant is to cater to an increase in domestic demand. The move follows NFL’s wider domestic capacity-building agenda, previously outlined in Nitrogen+Syngas’ March 2025 coverage of the company’s planned 18% stake in the Namrup‑IV ammonia-urea complex in Assam.

In its FY 2024–25 annual report, NFL chairman and managing director Dr U. Saravanan said: “This is the time for India to strengthen the country’s domestic capacity and move decisively towards achieving self-reliance in fertilisers.” He also highlighted a shift towards non-subsidised products and industrials, noting that non-urea business contributed 33% of overall revenue in FY 2024–25 (year ended 31 March 2025), compared with urea’s 67%. NFL has previously commissioned a 5,000 t/a sulphur‑coated urea (“Urea Gold”) pilot plant at Panipat, with Performance Guarantee Test Run (PGTR) completed on 30th April 2025, and says that a similar 5,000 t/a pilot plant at Nangal is expected to be commissioned shortly.

Natalie Noor-Drugan

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