Fertiliser units' revival to go to CCEA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will consider a proposal to revive six state-owned fertiliser units through a revenue-sharing arrangement with the private sector.

The decision to seek CCEA's approval on the revenue- sharing model of the revival plan of the units of the Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd was taken last month by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECoS).

The issue was also discussed by the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) on September 22 and a consensus seems to have been reached that the sick fertiliser units should be revived through Public- Private-Partnership, a high-level BRPSE official said.

The ECoS is also believed to have considered the appointment of Deloitte as a project adviser for the implementation of the revival plan.

Different consultants, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vakksh Capital Company and KPMG had already been appointed as financial consultants for revival of FCIL and HFCL units at Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Talcher and Sindri.

While NDA government had decided to close about nine FCIL and HFCL units after they were found to be unviable, the UPA government wanted to revive these facilities based on the recommendations of BRPSE.

The revival exercise is on for the last two years.