# Binani Zinc at Edayar: From Smelter to Shutdown > Binani Zinc ran an electrolytic zinc smelter on the Periyar at Edayar, near Aluva, from the late 1960s until it stopped smelting in 2014. As of October 2026 the company is called Edayar Zinc Ltd, and its 108-acre site is the subject of a plan for an industrial and logistics park, first announced in December 2022. - URL: https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/binani-zinc-edayar-history/ - Publisher: Ashraf Gents Hostel, Ashraf house, NAD Rd, signal, Kalamassery, Aluva, Kerala 683563, India (+91 90746 23855) - Published: 2026-10-08 · Updated: 2026-10-08 - Topic: History & archive - Cite as: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Binani Zinc at Edayar: From Smelter to Shutdown.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/binani-zinc-edayar-history/ ## Key facts - A 1963 answer in Parliament recorded a licence to Cominco Binani Zinc Ltd for a zinc smelter at Alwaye (Aluva), Kerala, with an initial capacity of 12,000 tonnes a year. - The project was a collaboration between the Binani group and Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada (Cominco). - A Rajya Sabha answer of 4 June 1971 recorded that the Alwaye zinc smelter had stopped production because of labour trouble. - Binani Zinc stopped zinc smelting at Edayar in 2014 and was later renamed Edayar Zinc Ltd, according to a Maritime Gateway report of 10 December 2022. - On 10 December 2022 Edayar Zinc announced ‘Fortune Grownd’, an ₹800-crore industrial and logistics park planned on 108 acres in the Edayar Industrial Development Area. ## A Canadian partner and a site on the Periyar The zinc smelter at Edayar began as a joint venture. Parliamentary records from 1963 describe a licence granted to **Cominco Binani Zinc Ltd** to build a smelter at Alwaye – the old spelling of Aluva – with the financial and technical help of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, better known as Cominco. The licensed capacity was 12,000 tonnes of zinc a year, to be expanded later; a later answer gave 20,000 tonnes. Why here? The same records say the site was chosen for its access to the Kochi port and its plentiful supply of water and power. The Periyar gave process water, and Travancore’s hydroelectric schemes had already drawn power-hungry industry to the belt – the [Alupuram aluminium smelter](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/indian-aluminium-alupuram-history/) was the first, two decades earlier. Cominco, for its part, wanted an outlet for zinc concentrates from its Canadian mines, according to company histories summarised by The Northern Miner. Company profiles date the start of commercial production to 1967. One 2020 feature in The News Minute lists Binani Zinc among units that began around 1950; we have not found any primary source for that earlier date, and the licence was granted only in the early 1960s, so we use the late-1960s start here. The locality around the works came to be called **Binanipuram**, a name still used for the area and its post office. ## Timeline | Date | What happened | Source | |---|---|---| | 6 September 1963 | Lok Sabha answer records the licence to Cominco Binani Zinc for a 12,000-tonne smelter at Alwaye | Lok Sabha debates (eparlib) | | Late 1960s (company profiles give 1967) | Commercial zinc production begins at Edayar | Company profiles; Maritime Gateway | | 4 June 1971 | Rajya Sabha told that production at the Alwaye smelter has stopped because of labour trouble | Rajya Sabha debates | | Not dated in sources | Cominco sells its 40% shareholding | The Northern Miner | | December 2006 | Kerala State Pollution Control Board orders the plant closed over water pollution; the order is revoked within days | Equitybulls report | | 19 March 2009 | Supreme Court decides Binani Zinc Ltd v. Kerala State Electricity Board, a dispute over a power-tariff increase | Supreme Court judgment | | 2014 | Zinc smelting stops; the company is later renamed Edayar Zinc Ltd | Maritime Gateway | | 2019 | Punjab National Bank files an insolvency petition against Binani Industries as guarantor for Edayar Zinc’s loans | M&A Critique | | 10 December 2022 | ‘Fortune Grownd’ industrial and logistics park announced for the 108-acre site | Maritime Gateway | > Capacity figures differ widely between sources – from 12,000 tonnes a year in the 1960s licence to 30,000 tonnes in a late-1990s report and about 38,000 tonnes in a 2008 industry estimate. We give the range rather than one number. ## Strikes, power bills and pollution notices The smelter’s history was rarely smooth. In June 1971 a minister told the Rajya Sabha that Cominco Binani Zinc had reported a stoppage of production at Alwaye because of labour trouble. Cominco later sold its 40% stake; The Northern Miner reported after-tax proceeds of about $2.4 million and said the decision followed the end of concentrate exports from Canada. Electrolytic zinc needs a great deal of electricity, which made the plant sensitive to Kerala’s power tariffs. A tariff dispute with the Kerala State Electricity Board reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in **Binani Zinc Ltd v. KSEB** on 19 March 2009. We have not found a source that directly links the 2014 stoppage to power costs, so we do not claim one. Like its neighbours on the Periyar, the plant drew environmental scrutiny. In December 2006 the Kerala State Pollution Control Board ordered it closed over alleged water pollution, then revoked the order within days and let the unit resume. The wider story of the river and the industrial belt is in our [Eloor and Periyar pollution timeline](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/eloor-pollution-timeline/). ## Shutdown, debt and a second life as a park Smelting stopped in 2014. The company was renamed **Edayar Zinc Ltd**, and its debts followed it: in 2019 Punjab National Bank, which led a lending consortium, took the parent Binani Industries to the National Company Law Tribunal in Kolkata as guarantor, with a reported claim of about ₹157 crore. We have not found a final outcome of that case. On 10 December 2022 Edayar Zinc, under new management, announced **Fortune Grownd**, an ₹800-crore multi-zone industrial and logistics park on its 108 acres in the Edayar Industrial Development Area. The plan described about 25 lakh sq ft of warehouses and industrial space, room for roughly 100 units, and at least 6,000 jobs, with construction from 2023 and operation by 2026. As of October 2026 we could not confirm from a reliable source how far that plan has progressed, so treat the 2026 opening target as a past announcement, not a fact on the ground. For today’s working units at Edayar, see our [Edayar industrial area guide](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/edayar-industrial-area-guide/), and for the neighbouring mineral-sands company, the [CMRL company history](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/cmrl-edayar-history/). ## Why this history matters near the NAD signal Binanipuram is one of several place names in this belt that outlived the factory that created it, like Alupuram and Premier Junction – our [place-names glossary](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-place-names-glossary/) and the [Muppathadam and Edayar history](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/muppathadam-edayar-history/) explain more. If the Edayar site does become a logistics park, it will add another commute for people living around Kalamassery. Ashraf Gents Hostel, a men-only hostel and PG at the NAD Road signal, sits on the Aluva side of Kalamassery, and Edayar lies beyond its listed 3 km radius, so ride the route before relying on it. Rates are indicative (about ₹2,000–3,000 a month) and confirmed on the call. More history pages are listed in the [Kalamassery history archive](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-history-archive/). ## Frequently asked questions **When did Binani Zinc stop production at Edayar?** It stopped zinc smelting in 2014, according to a December 2022 Maritime Gateway report on the company, which has since been renamed Edayar Zinc Ltd. **Who was Binani Zinc’s foreign partner?** Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, known as Cominco. The original company was called Cominco Binani Zinc Ltd; Cominco later sold its 40% stake. **What is planned on the old Binani Zinc site?** In December 2022 Edayar Zinc announced ‘Fortune Grownd’, an ₹800-crore industrial and logistics park on 108 acres. As of October 2026 we could not confirm its progress. **Where is Binanipuram?** It is the locality around the old zinc works at Edayar, on the Periyar near Aluva and north-west of Kalamassery. **Was the plant ever closed for pollution?** The Kerala State Pollution Control Board ordered it closed in December 2006 over alleged water pollution, but revoked the order within days. ## Sources - [Lok Sabha debates, 6 September 1963: licence to Cominco Binani Zinc](https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1010563/1/03_V_06-09-1963_p9_p9_s531.pdf) - [Rajya Sabha debates, 4 June 1971: stoppage at the Alwaye zinc smelter](https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/481869/1/PQ_76_04061971_S292_p56_p56.pdf) - [The Northern Miner: Cominco sells stake in Indian smelter](https://secure.northernminer.com/news/cominco-sells-stake-in-indian-smelter/1000135488) - [Legal Authority: Binani Zinc Ltd vs Kerala State Electricity Board (19 March 2009)](https://www.legalauthority.in/judgement/binani-zinc-ltd-vs-kerala-state-electricity-board-11690) - [Equitybulls: KSPCB directs Binani Industries to close zinc plant in Kerala](https://equitybulls.com/category.php?id=5789) - [M&A Critique: PNB drags Binani to NCLT as subsidiary Edayar Zinc fails to repay loan](https://mnacritique.mergersindia.com/?p=31259) - [Maritime Gateway: Edayar Zinc Ltd to open multi-zone industrial park and logistics hub in Kerala](https://www.maritimegateway.com/edayar-zinc-ltd-to-open-multi-zone-industrial-park-and-logistics-hub-in-kerala/) --- Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile, photos and Google Site; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. 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