Calcutta, Sept. 30: Duncan Industries Ltd is in talks with prospective buyers to sell its fertiliser unit.

Chairman Gouri Prasad Goenka said the buyer could either acquire the entire unit or join hands with him to run the plant, closed since 2005.

“It is up to the buyer. If it wants to do a joint venture, I am willing. If it wants to buy it outright, that can be done too,” he said.

He could not give any time frame to conclude the deal but said three players were in the fray.

The plant, located near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, produces 720,000 tonnes of urea a year. It uses naphtha as feedstock, but the high price of the raw material has made operations unviable.

The new investor has to convert to natural gas as the feedstock within a period to be notified by the Centre.

This will require an investment of around Rs 80 crore over a period of one-and-a-half years.

The plant is within 15 km of the HBJ pipeline — the biggest natural gas pipeline in the country.

The unit has a liability of around Rs 600 crore, which includes Rs 281 crore to banks and financial institutions.

It has accumulated a loss of around Rs 500 crore.

An investment of Rs 250 crore is required to refurbish the plant, change the raw material and increase capacity to 800,000 tonnes.