Will raise urea capacity by 3 MT in 3-4 years: Ananth Kumar

NEW DELHI: Government is working on reviving three FCIL units to raise domestic production of urea by 3 million tonnes within 3-4 years, which may initially cost around Rs 10,000 crore, to cut down imports.

Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said his ministry is working on reviving the three closed urea units of Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) in Talcher (Odisha), Sindri (Jharkhand) and Ramagundam ( Telangana).

He said the units at Talcher and Ramgundam, once revived, will raise the domestic production capacity by 3 MT with an estimated investment of around Rs 10,000 crore.

"I am confident that in next three to four years closed units at Talcher and Ramgundam will be revived and ready to manufacture urea, whereas for Sindri unit some more groundwork is required," Kumar told reporters here late last evening.

The country's urea production has stagnated at 22 million tonnes, while current demand is about 30 MT. The shortfall of 8 MT is met through imports.

Both Talcher and Ramagundam plants will be of standard 1.3-1.5 MT size and will be revived by consortium of PSUs.

RCF, Coal India and Gail are working on to revive the Talcher plant, while Ramagundam plant will be a joint venture between National Fertilisers and EIL.

Ananth Kumar said he has also reviewed the progress of proposed joint venture fertiliser plant in Iran.

"We are working on to manufacture urea which is lower than the import price and affordable for both industry and farmers," the minister said.

As many as 8 state-owned fertiliser manufacturing units - 5 of FCIL and 3 of Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd - are closed with combined asset value of about Rs 5,600 crore.

Meanwhile, the minister ruled out any increase in urea prices at present and assured that there will no shortage of the soil nutrient in the ongoing kharif season.