Rabat – The Morocco’s national phosphate company and the Indian firm Kribhco announced the construction of a new $230 million fertilizer plant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Friday.
The 50/50 venture will be located in the city of Krishnapatnam and have the capacity to process up to 1.2 million tons of NPK – or Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium – fertilizer.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the “Made in India” movement, pushing for new employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector, since he came to power in 2014. The fertilizer sector is one of 25 identified by the Modi administration as exhibiting high potential for profitable growth in India.
“OCP has always been, and remains fully committed to contribute to India’s agricultural development,” OCP Chairman Mostafa Terrab said in a statement announcing the venture. “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.”
Morocco holds the world’s largest reserves of phosphates, making the kingdom a key player in the international fertilizer and detergent industries, as well as several other phosphate-related niches.
OCP plans to open a fertilizer factory in Nigeria as well. In July, the Minister Delegate of Foreign Affairs met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the construction of such a plant. The status of the plans remains unclear.
