Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for fertiliser plant in Gorakhpur

GORAKHPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for the revival of a sick fertiliser plant here, a move which will create up to 4,000 jobs and ensure adequate supply of nutrients to farmers in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi also laid the foundation stone for setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) at an estimated cost of Rs 1,011 crore to provide super-specialty healthcare to people of the state and create a large pool of doctors.

The plant belonging to the Fertiliser Corporation India Ltd (FCIL) has been lying idle since 1990s. It would be revived through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of public sector units (PSUs) at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

NTPC, Coal India and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd ( IOCL) have formed a joint venture in this regard and a tender will soon be floated to finalise the contractor.

A presentation said the revival of the plant is expected to offer 3,000-4,000 jobs to skilled workforce in the state and ensure easy availability of urea to farmers.

The country's urea output this year is estimated to rise to 25 million tonnes in 2016-17 fiscal, still lower than the annual demand of 32 million tonnes. The balance is met through imports.

In a presentation made at the event, PM was informed that the AIIMS, which will be set up at a 24,000 sqm area, will have 150 operation theaters and 750 beds.

The Cabinet had recently approved these two proposals.

Health Minister J P Nadda, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra, Fertiliser Minister Ananth Mishra, Minister of State for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal, UP Governor Ram Naik and BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, among other were present at the event.