IndianOil Total Opens Advanced Bitumen Facility in Chennai

IndianOil Total Pvt Ltd (ITPL) has opened its new bitumen derivatives plant in Gummidipoondi, near Chennai, giving a strong push to India’s fast-growing road construction ecosystem.

The greenfield unit, commissioned on November 20, brings fresh capacity to a sector seeing steady demand from highway and urban development projects.

The facility was inaugurated by ITPL Chairman and IOC Director (Finance) Anuj Jain along with Olivier Van Parys, Senior Vice-President, TotalEnergies Marketing & Services, Asia Pacific and Middle East.

Built with advanced automation systems and global safety benchmarks, the Chennai plant is set to produce a wide range of materials including Polymer Modified Bitumen, Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen, Natural Rubber Modified Bitumen and Bitumen Emulsions.

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ITPL said the new unit will support large-scale works across national highways, state roads, industrial corridors and major city infrastructure in southern India. “The facility will play a key role in supplying materials for NHAI national highways, state highway programs, major city infrastructure works, industrial corridors, and other critical development projects in the region,” the company said.

Jain noted that the plant boosts ITPL’s ability to deliver high-performance materials required for India’s rapid infrastructure expansion. TotalEnergies’ South Asia head Thibault Lesueur added that the project highlights the company’s long-term commitment to India, saying, “Through this partnership with IndianOil, we bring world-class asphalt technology, strong R&D capabilities, and international best practices in safety and sustainability.”

ITPL MD & CEO Naveen Makheja said the Chennai site strengthens supply chain efficiency for highway, port connectivity and urban mobility projects. Formed in 2020, the JV blends IndianOil’s extensive distribution network with TotalEnergies’ global expertise in asphalt technology.

The new plant is expected to improve supply reliability across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana, reducing logistics time and helping agencies and concessionaires access consistent bitumen supplies.