Bhubaneswar, Aug. 5: Decks are cleared for revival of the closed urea plant at Talcher with the cabinet committee on economic affairs giving nod to recommendations of the empowered committee of secretaries to this effect.
The nod from the cabinet committee on economic affairs will enable the Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) to make a one-time settlement with its creditors and hand over the plants to Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited and others. The committee considered revival of the five closed units of Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited at Talcher apart from Ramagundam, Gorakhpur and Korba and three closed units of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited at Durgapur, Haldia and Barauni. It had also approved the draft rehabilitation scheme, sources in the Union chemicals and fertiliser ministry said.
Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena had been pushing for early revival of the closed urea units, including the Talcher plant.
Earlier, the department of fertiliser had received a memorandum of intent (MoI) — entered among Gas Authority of India Limited (Gail), the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertiliser (RCF) and Coal India Limited (CIL) — for setting up of an integrated coal gasification-based ammonia-urea complex along with nitric acid and ammonium nitrate complex at the Talcher site.
The urea project will be based on coal gasification for supply of synthesis gas, which shall be set up on build own and operate basis, for which global tenders will be issued. The Rs 2,500 crore-upstream urea plant will have the capacity of around 1.15 metric tonnes, whereas that of the nitric acid plant will be around 850 million tonnes per day and ammonium nitrate plant shall be 1,000 metric tonnes per day. The estimated cost of downstream plants consisting of ammonia urea complex, nitric acid plant and ammonium nitrate plant will be around Rs 6,000 crore taking the total investment to approximately Rs 8,500 crore.
Coal India Limited will facilitate the coal availability for the project.
Gail shall prepare a detailed feasibility report on coal gasification unit and RCF shall prepare the same for fertiliser project.
The Talcher plant had started its production in 1980 and used to produce 600 to 700 metric tonnes of urea per day. The plant was shut down in 1999 after it had incurred huge losses.
