With an aim to reduce the import dependency of domestic fertilizer industry, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has emphasized on the expeditious completion of the coal-gasification urea-ammonia plant of Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL). The project comprises of a coal gasification-based ammonia and urea plant, each having production capacity of 2200 and 3850 tonnes per day (TPD) in addition to one coal-based captive power plant.  On Friday, Union Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed the present status of the project with an aim to eradicate any challenge delaying its completion.

The one of its kind TFL coal-gasification plant is worth INR 132770 Million and is scheduled to be completed by 2023-24. The plant is built to direct abundant urea supply to Odisha and Eastern India. India presently imports around 50 to 70 lakh tonnes Urea each year. Stressing the significance of early completion of this project, the personnel stated that pre-commencement of TFL’s urea-ammonia plant will assist India and Odisha to achieve their self-sufficiency targets. It is also perceived to create direct or indirect employment opportunities for around 4500 people and thus brace the upliftment of the struggling economy. Talcher Fertilizers Limited came onstream in 2014 as a joint venture between Coal India Limited, Gail India Limited, Fertilizers Corporation of India Limited and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited.

As per ChemAnalyst, “ Since the pooled natural coal gas utilized for urea production holds a large volume of the imported LNG, the upcoming urea-ammonia coal gasification plant will viably assist the country to reduce its hands on LNG imports.”