Govt ropes in Chinese firm for coal gasification of Talcher fertiliser unit

The Centre on Wednesday said it has roped in Chinese firm Wuhuan Engineering for coal gasification of Talcher unit of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) in Odisha, being revived with an estimated investment of Rs 13,277 crore.

The Talcher fertiliser unit will use the coal gasification technology to produce 1.27 million tonne of neem-coated urea annually. The unit is being revived by Talcher Fertilizers Ltd (TFL), a special purpose vehicle of the public sector undertaking.

In a statement, the fertiliser ministry said a 'Lump Sum Turn Key' contract for coal gasification of the Talcher fertiliser unit has been awarded to Wuhuan Engineering Co Ltd, China.

The contract was awarded by Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda in the presence of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Fertiliser Secretary Chhabilendra Roul here.

Since last year, TFL is executing many of the pre-project activities. Further tendering process for other major packages is also underway and it is expected that majority of the tenders will be awarded before the end of this fiscal, the ministry said.

Elaborating, the fertiliser minister said TFL is implementing this project based on coal gasification technology, being first of its kind in India.

The plant will use a blend of coal and petcoke as feedstock for production of urea. Coal for this project will be sourced from captive northern part of north Arkhapal mine in Talcher region allotted to TFL and petcoke will be sourced from the Paradip Refinery, he said.

This project will promote the use of abundantly available domestic coal in an environment-friendly manner. Success of this technology will also propel usage of coal for production of other chemical products, he added.

Gowda further said the project aims to improve India's self-sufficiency in urea, promote agriculture growth and availability of urea to farmers of Odisha.

This initiative would propel India towards self-reliance in the urea sector through efforts under 'Make in India' in addition to generating direct and indirect employment of about 4,500.