Ghorasal Palash urea fertilizer factory: Experimental production will start this month
Staff Reporter :
Experimental production of the Ghorashal-Palash urea fertilizer factory will start this month as already 95-98 per cent of the project activities have been completed, the Industries Minister said yesterday.
During the inauguration of the commissioning work, the Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said “The establishment of the new fertiliser plant will save huge amount of foreign exchange as well as reduce dependence on import of fertilisers, increase self-sufficiency in agriculture and create employment opportunities in the country.”
The objective of the project is to meet the huge demand deficit of urea and ensure the farmers get the fertiliser at reasonable rates, he added.
Besides, BCIC officials hope once the granular fertiliser factory goes into operation, the import will be reduced by up to 56 per cent, and the country won’t have to import urea fertiliser from 2025.
Once the implementation of the project is completed, 2,800 tonnes per day (annually 9,24,000 tonnes) of granular urea fertiliser will be produced.
Work on various plants of the project is nearing completion. Already the project’s ammonia plant, urea plant and utilities are visible, reads a press release.
The construction of Ghorashal-Palash Urea Fertiliser Factory was started in Narsingdi district in October 2018, but after a long hiatus due to the pandemic, the foundation stone was officially laid by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 21 April 2022.
The cost of the “Ghorashal-Palash Urea Fertiliser Project” has been estimated at Tk15,500 crore which was initially amounted to Tk 10,460 crore.
Of the project cost, Tk 4,580.21 crore is coming from the government funds and the remaining Tk 10,920 crore from foreign loans, including bidders’ finance.
Meanwhile, The new factory would be a modern and eco-friendly one, which would replace the two old factories including Urea Fertiliser Factory Limited in Ghorashal and Palash Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd in Narsingdi.
Currently, the two factories produce 3.15 lakh tonnes of fertiliser annually. The new factory will have an annual production capacity of 9.24 lakh tonnes.
Annual domestic production of urea fertiliser varies from seven to 10 lakh tonnes, against the country’s annual demand for 25 to 26 lakh. Every year, around 13 to 20 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser have to be imported.
State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumdar MP, Industry Secretary Zakia Sultana, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation Chairman Md Saidur Rahman were, among others, present during the inauguration of the commissioning work yesterday.
