Flood-hit Chennai’s chemicals hub yet to recover

The heavy flooding that hit Chennai earlier this month has left large chemical and petrochemical units of the Manali industrial belt struggling to recover, setting off a chain of industrial disruption within and outside the state.

About half-a-dozen large units in north Chennai have failed to resume operations even two weeks after the heavy rain and flooding. As things are, industry sources fear it could take a few more weeks before production can really start.

Among the major units that are yet to resume operations are Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Tamilnadu Petroproducts, Madras Fertilizers, SRF and Supreme Petro.

In the Manali belt alone, reports say, materials worth an estimated Rs400 crore have been lost in the floods and this could further lead to production loss worth thousands of crores.

A whole spectrum of chemical industries, from acid makers to soap manufacturers, are affected with disruption of sulphur supplies from CPCL affecting Tanfac's sulphuric acid production in Cuddalore and non-availability of acid in turn affecting units in nearby Puducherry.

Reports say, with Tamilnadu Petroproducts yet to restart production of chemicals like linear alkyl benzene, detergent-makers are left high and dry.

CPCL, a standalone refinery of Indian Oil Corporation, is reported to have succeeded in restarting one of its crude distillation units and fluidised catalytic cracking unit. But sulphur supply is yet to stabilise and buyers like Tanfac will have to sources supplies from Kochi and Mangaluru, say sources.

With the larger petrochem units unlikely to restart operations any time soon, sources say, supply deadlines could still be missed.

As control rooms, electrical equipment and, in some units, production lines were completely submerged, experts will have to certify some of the machines fit to be switched on, again.

Overall, about 165 BSE-listed companies worth over Rs285,000 crore that run operations in Chennai have been hit. But what remains a challenge for the government is holding on to Rs2,42,000 crore investment it attracted during the investors' meet in September.

Industry sources said that major players including Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Nissan, TVS, Renault-Nissan and Ashok Leyland were forced to shut production during the rain.