PM lays foundation stone for Rs. 13,000cr Talcher fertilizer project
What's the story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Rs. 13,000 crore project to revive the Talcher fertilizer plant in Odisha will, for the first time, see coal being converted into gas for use as a feedstock and for producing neem-coated urea.
The project, which will start production in 36 months, will help cut import of natural gas and fertilizer and make India self-reliant, he said.
Details
Project will use latest technology, says Modi
"Our aim is to take India to new heights of growth," Modi said at a function organized for the commencement of the project.
Projects like the fertilizer plant are central to India's growth, he said, adding, "This plant will also use the latest technology."
The beginning of work on the plant would fulfill the dreams that should have been fulfilled long ago, he emphasized.
Information
Modi says project would create employment for about 4,500 people
The project will produce 1.27mn metric ton of neem-coated urea, a crop nutrient, and would use coal-gasification technology to produce feedstock for plants. "Coal-gasification is being used for the first time in India," Modi claimed, adding the project would also generate employment for 4,500 people.
Background
Project being executed by a consortium of PSUs
Fertilizer Corporation of India's Talcher fertilizer project was shut in 2002 by the then BJP-led NDA government as frequent power restrictions and mismatch of technology made the plant economically unviable.
The government in August 2011 decided to revive the plant.
A new company, Talcher Fertilisers Ltd, was constituted with four state-run companies namely GAIL, Coal India, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers and FCIL as partners.