Talcher: There will be a delay of at least one year in the commissioning of the Talcher Fertilizer Plant in Odisha, said Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya in Rajya Sabha Tuesday.
Replying to a query by BJD MP Sasmit Patra, the Union Minister said the plant is expected to be commissioned by September 2024.
The plant was scheduled to be commissioned in September 2023 but the work has been delayed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, he added.
“The project has been delayed for at least 12 months primarily due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Lump Sum Turn Key (LSTK) global contract for coal gasification and ammonia urea package was awarded in September 2019. The Covid-19 started spreading across the globe by that period and became a pandemic by March, 2020. The nationwide lockdown was declared March 23, 2020. As a result, all project activities came to a standstill,” the minister said.
Once commissioned, the plant will improve the availability of fertilizer for the farmers and boost economic development in the eastern region.
It will also help reduce transport subsidy for supply of urea to the farmers of the eastern region. This apart, the plant will help reduce urea imports to the tune of 12.7 LMT per annum, the ministry said.
PNN