The Structure of Investment Costs

When alternative strategies have been identified and the scope of projects established, preliminary cost estimates for the investment project alternatives can follow for opportunity or prefeasibility studies, together with a preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment. Reliability of capital and production cost estimates increase as projects progress from one stege to the next. Acceptable ranges of reliability are  

Opportunity study Prefeasibility study Feasibility study 

Erected Battery-Limits Plant is the main production unit and includes all process equipment, delivered and installed, with all instrumentation and controls, piping, and electrical tie-ins. Battery-limits takes its name from the concept that the main production unit lies within boundaries or limits that raw materials, catalysts, chemicals, utilities, product and byproducts must cross. 

Utility Facilities are the facilities required to support the battery-limits plant, This may include water treatment, steam generation, electricity, and cooling for process water and waste water treatment. Utility facilities support production. Utility facilities can range from 35% of the battery-limits plant cost for grass-roots installations to 10% for an addition to an existing production site. 

Raw Materia] and Product Storage are on-site storage facilities for raw materials and for product. Commonly, when on-site storage is required, storage capacity is provided for 30 days, or more, of raw materials or product. Typical storage investment costs are 90/t of material for bulk storage and 140/t for bagged material, If dehumidified starve is necessary, these costs are about 10% hicher. 

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