HFCL Invests Additional INR 820 Crore For OFC Expansion
Investment is aimed at meeting growing domestic and international demand driven by Hyperscale data centres, AI infrastructure, cloud computing, telecom expansion and fiberisation
Mahendra Nahata, MD, HFCL
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HFCL Limited, a technology enterprise, approved additional investment of approximately INR 820 crore, taking total planned capex to INR 1,800 crore for expansion of optical fiber, optical fiber cable and preform manufacturing capacities.
The above capacity expansion is in addition to the aggregate capital expenditure of approximately INR 980 crore already approved by the Board. Upon completion of the capacity expansions, HFCL’s manufacturing capacities will increase to 43.10 million fiber kilometres per annum for optical fiber, 62.00 million fiber kilometres per annum for optical fiber cable, and 600 MT per annum for preform.
The proposed expansion is driven by HFCL’s strong order book for connectivity products, a robust pipeline of business opportunities and a favourable long-term demand outlook for optical communication infrastructure across domestic and international markets. As on date, HFCL’s combined order book for Optical Fiber Cable and connectivity solutions stood at approximately INR 19,000 crore.
Mahendra Nahata, MD, HFCL, said, “The proposed investment marks an important step in HFCL’s journey towards building a larger and fully integrated optical communications manufacturing platform. The growing adoption of AI-enabled digital infrastructure, hyperscale data centres, cloud computing and advanced telecom networks is creating significant long-term opportunities for optical communication products globally. We intend to strengthen our ability to meet growing customer requirements, improve supply chain resilience and enhance operational efficiencies. This investment reflects our confidence in the long-term growth potential of the optical communications industry and reinforces our commitment to building globally competitive manufacturing capabilities.”
Preform is a critical raw material used in the manufacture of optical fiber. The proposed Preform manufacturing facility represents an important step in strengthening HFCL’s backward integration capabilities by providing reliable access to this essential input. The facility is expected to reduce the company’s dependence on external suppliers, strengthen supply chain resilience and support its current and future chain is also expected to contribute to cost efficiencies, operational control and margin enhancement.
The rapid expansion of hyper scale data centres with artificial intelligence, cloud computing and high-performance computing is resulting in the development of increasingly large and data-intensive digital infrastructure. AI workloads require the movement of substantial volumes of data within and between the data centres, increasing the need for high capacity, reliable and low latency optical connectivity. optical fiber and optical fiber cable are therefore becoming increasingly critical to the development of next-generation digital infrastructure.
Beyond data centres, telecom network modernisation, deeper fiberisation, FTTH deployments and enterprise connectivity are expected to provide additional demand for optical connectivity. Government-led digital infrastructure and rural connectivity programmes are also contributing to the broader deployment of fiber networks across underserved geographies.
HFCL Limited, a technology enterprise, approved additional investment of approximately INR 820 crore, taking total planned capex to INR 1,800 crore for expansion of optical fiber, optical fiber cable and preform manufacturing capacities.
The above capacity expansion is in addition to the aggregate capital expenditure of approximately INR 980 crore already approved by the Board. Upon completion of the capacity expansions, HFCL’s manufacturing capacities will increase to 43.10 million fiber kilometres per annum for optical fiber, 62.00 million fiber kilometres per annum for optical fiber cable, and 600 MT per annum for preform.
The proposed expansion is driven by HFCL’s strong order book for connectivity products, a robust pipeline of business opportunities and a favourable long-term demand outlook for optical communication infrastructure across domestic and international markets. As on date, HFCL’s combined order book for Optical Fiber Cable and connectivity solutions stood at approximately INR 19,000 crore.
