VADODARA, GUJARAT, INDIA — Hirva Anwesha Infratech Limited (HAIL), a leading mechanical and EPC contractor based in Vadodara, Gujarat, has completed India's first documented industrial storage tank relocation — dismantling an existing storage tank from one facility and reconstructing the same tank at an entirely new location. This pioneering approach combines HAIL's proven reverse jacking dismantling expertise with its API 650 tank construction capabilities, delivering significant cost and time savings compared to building a new tank from scratch.
The Concept: Dismantle, Transport, Rebuild
Industrial storage tanks in refineries, fertilizer plants, and chemical facilities are often decommissioned when a plant shuts down or upgrades its infrastructure. Conventionally, these tanks are scrapped — cutting the shell plates into pieces and selling them as ferrous scrap. HAIL has demonstrated that a properly engineered dismantling procedure can preserve shell plates, roof structures, and internal components in reusable condition, enabling the same tank to be transported and re-erected at a different site.
The Tank Relocation Process
- Structural fitness assessment of the existing tank to confirm plate thickness, weld integrity, and remaining service life using ultrasonic thickness gauging and radiographic testing.
- Engineered dismantling using HAIL's reverse jacking method — shell courses are separated at ground level as complete rings rather than cut into scrap pieces, preserving their curvature and dimensional accuracy.
- Plate marking, cataloguing, and protected transport — every shell plate, roof rafter, column, and nozzle is numbered, mapped, and transported to the new site with protective measures against transit damage.
- Foundation preparation at the new location — ring-wall foundation or compact sand pad constructed per API 650 requirements and site-specific soil conditions.
- Re-erection using conventional bottom-up construction sequence — shell courses are welded in the same order as original construction, with all welds re-inspected per API 650 standards.
- Full hydrostatic testing, settlement monitoring, and commissioning at the new site as if it were a new tank.
Why This Matters for Indian Industry
India's refinery and petrochemical landscape is undergoing rapid transformation. As older plants decommission and new greenfield facilities come online, there is an enormous inventory of structurally sound storage tanks that are currently being scrapped. Tank relocation offers three compelling advantages:
- Cost savings: Rebuilding a relocated tank costs 40 to 60 percent less than fabricating and erecting a new tank of equivalent capacity, since the primary cost — raw steel plate — is already available.
- Time savings: Lead times for new steel plate procurement in India can stretch to 12 to 16 weeks. A relocated tank bypasses this entirely, with re-erection possible within 8 to 12 weeks of arrival at the new site.
- Sustainability: Reusing structural steel reduces the carbon footprint associated with new steel production. For a typical 10,000 KL tank, relocation avoids approximately 150 to 200 tonnes of new steel consumption.
HAIL's Unique Capability
HAIL is the only contractor in India that combines both the dismantling expertise (reverse jacking, HAZOP-led decommissioning, cold cutting) and the construction capability (API 650 certified tank erection, welding, hydrotesting) under a single contract. This eliminates the coordination risk that arises when one contractor dismantles and a different contractor attempts to rebuild from plates they did not remove.
The company's owned crane fleet (200 MT, 100 MT, 50 MT capacity), in-house fabrication workshop in Vadodara, and pan-India project delivery network enable end-to-end execution from dismantling at the source plant to commissioning at the destination.
"When we perfected reverse jacking for ammonia tank decommissioning, we realised the same precision that makes dismantling safe also makes relocation possible. If you can bring every shell course down intact at ground level, you can load it onto a trailer and rebuild it anywhere in India."
— HAIL Spokesperson
Applications
Tank relocation is suitable for:
- Crude oil, diesel, petrol, and naphtha storage tanks
- Chemical and solvent storage tanks
- Water and fire-water tanks
- LPG and ammonia tanks (subject to metallurgical fitness)
- Industrial silos and process vessels
About HAIL
Hirva Anwesha Infratech Limited (HAIL) is a Vadodara-based mechanical, civil, and EPC contractor serving the Oil and Gas, Refinery, Petrochemical, Fertilizer, and Chemical sectors across India and eight overseas markets including UAE, Oman, Nepal, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Indonesia, and Malaysia. With a leadership track record of 2,000+ storage tanks and 300+ mechanical projects, HAIL holds ASME U-Stamp, API 650, PESO, and ISO 9001 certifications. The company operates as a single-point EPC contractor handling all mechanical, civil, electrical, and instrumentation disciplines.
Media Contact
Hirva Anwesha Infratech Limited
Phone: +91-9510034854
Email: info@hail.ltd
Website: hail.ltd
CIN: U45309GJ2022PLC135084 | Vadodara, Gujarat, India