RCF-CIL-GAIL-FCIL consortium to invest Rs8,000-cr to revive Talcher urea plant
06 Sep 2013
Fertiliszer Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Coal India Ltd (CIL), GAIL India Ltd and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) for revival of the Talcher Urea Plant in Odisha.
The project will use the coal gasification process being for production of 1.2 MTPA of urea and ammonium nitrate and CIL is reported to have assured supply about 5 million tonnes per annum of coal for the project.
There would be two separate joint venture companies for the proposed revival. While JV-1 would take up upstream coal gasification and gas purification with GAIL having major stake, JV-2 would take up down-stream urea-cum-ammonium nitrate complex and off-sites, including power plant and coal washery.
The project will have major stakes of RCF and CIL with minor stake by FCIL and GAIL, union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers Srikhand Jena said.
FCIL is a multi-unit fertilizer PSU under the department of fertilizer (DoF) having units Sindri, Talcher, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur and Korba and the Talcher unit was closed since September 2002.
The union cabinet approved the proposal for revival of closed units of FCIL in April 2007 and, in October 2008, the cabinet approved the constitution of an empowered committee of secretaries to evaluate options for revival of closed units of FCIL and, in August 2011, the CCEA approved a Draft Rehabilitation Scheme (DRS) submitted by the committee for revival of all the Units of FCIL, including Talcher fertilizer plant.
Recently, CCEA approved waiver of Government of India loan and interest of about Rs11,000 crore on FCIL and subsequently FCIL was de-registered from BIFR.
The pre-project activities for revival of Talcher project have already started. GAIL has already floated tender for pre-qualification of coal-gas technology supplier. RCF has also floated tender calling for LSTK bids for ammonia-urea plant.
The project, which will reduce the dependence on imported urea and utilise indigenously available feedstock, is expected to be commissioned by 2017.
The plan to revive production of urea and ammonia at the plant, which was idling since 1 April 1999 and the unit was closed in 2002 due to economic non-viability, however, is seen as an election gimmick.
"As the urban body elections are a few days away, the Congress-led UPA government is trying to hoodwink the voters," said local BJP leader Kalandi Samal. Chaitanya Pradhan of Langijoda village said the declaration to revive the plant is aimed at gaining political mileage. "Jena had announced the plant's revival three years back, but nothing materialised," he added.
The MoU was signed in presence of union minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers, statistics and programme implementation Srikant Kumar Jena, besides minister of petroleum and natural gas Veerapa Moily and coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.
Jena described the signing of the MoU as historical for the country, and the people of Odisha in particular.
