RCF to invest Rs 4,112 cr to expand urea capacity

It has been mooting setting up additional streams of ammonia and urea which will add 12.7 lakh MT per annum of urea capacity

Public sector fertiliser major Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) today said it has embarked on a major expansion at its Thal unit at a cost of Rs 4,112.5 crore.

The Mumbai-based PSU has been mooting setting up additional streams of ammonia and urea which will add 12.7 lakh MT per annum of urea capacity at a cost of Rs 4,112.5 crore, a company statement said.

Through global bidding process, the company has already selected the contractor to set up the plant on lumpsum turnkey basis (LSTK). The proposal falls under the New Investment Policy-2012, which has recently been notified by the government.

The project has been cleared by pre-PIB (Public Investment Board) recently and the company is seeking PIB approval, the statement added.  

Upon clearance by PIB, the proposal needs to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for construction to begin.

The company is also in the process of lining up other construction and project management consultancy contracts and expects to start process design and construction work on the project in May.

RCF has recently completed major revamp of its plants at Thal at a cost of Rs 489 crore which has increased its urea capacity from 17 lakh MT per annum to 20 MT per annum. The revamped plants have been commissioned and have already achieved the day-to-day high capacity and low energy consumption targets.     

The company will be able to reap benefits under the IPP (Import Parity Price) based pricing mechanism for extra production beyond the cut-off capacity in the current fiscal.