BASF to invest Rs1,000 cr in new Dahej plant

German chemicals and oil major today announced that it would invest Rs1,000 crore to set up a new chemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat, to be operational by March 2014.

''We have drawn up plans to invest Rs1,000 crore to set up a greenfield speciality chemicals manufacturing facility at Dahej. This will supplement our existing plant and also cater to expand our business,'' BASF India chairman and managing director Prasad Chandran told reporters at the inauguration of the Indo-German Urban Mela in New Delhi.

The announcement came even as the parent company BASF SE announced in Frankfurt that profits fell 21 per cent in the third quarter, as its chemicals business suffered from lower demand and troubles at a key Texas facility.

Stronger oil sales helped soften the blow now that the company's facilities in Libya are working again after being shut down by fighting last year, it said.

The Ludwigshafen-based company held on to its profit outlook for the rest of the year but cut its prediction for global growth.

BASF India, on the other hand, had clocked a revenue of Rs7,500 crore for 2011, registering a jump of 20 per cent over the previous year.