en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 16, Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Minister of West Bengal, India, announced that the phenol and acetone plant being built by Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) with an investment of approximately INR 60 billion is scheduled to be commissioned on October 14, 2026. Located in Haldia, West Bengal, the project is currently in its final construction phase and is being implemented by Adplus Polymers & Chemicals, a subsidiary of HPL.

The plant is designed to produce 345,000 metric tons of phenol and 215,000 metric tons of acetone annually, bringing the combined annual capacity of phenol and acetone to 560,000 metric tons. HPL's initial plans called for annual capacities of 300,000 metric tons of phenol and 185,000 metric tons of acetone. In November 2024, the company signed a technology license amendment agreement with Lummus Technology to increase the design capacity of the phenol unit to 345,000 metric tons.

The project will also include the construction of India's first dedicated propylene unit using olefin conversion technology, covering downstream production stages such as cumene for the phenol-acetone process. The relevant process technology is provided by Lummus Technology. Upon completion, HPL will establish an integrated production system encompassing propylene, cumene, phenol, and acetone.

HPL began piling works at the project site in January 2024, with earlier plans targeting completion of construction in the first quarter of 2026. In February 2026, company Chairman Purnendu Chatterjee visited the project site to inspect the final-stage construction and commissioning preparations. The latest announced commissioning date for the project is October 14, 2026.

Phenol is primarily used in the production of phenolic resins, bisphenol A, polycarbonate, and other engineering plastics; acetone is mainly applied in coatings, pharmaceuticals, electronic chemicals, and industrial solvents.