Date:04/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/04/stories/2008050455800100.htm

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Plan for Rs.5,000-crore urea plant in Kochi

Staff Reporter

Efforts on to link Kochi to national gas grid: Paswan

Scrutinising: Union Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan take a look at the house built from gypsum wall panels at the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore complex in Kochi on Saturday.

KOCHI: The Union Fertilizer Ministry will consider setting up a million-tonne urea plant in Kochi at an investment of about Rs.5,000 crore once liquefied natural gas (LNG) is available here, said Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday.

The Minister was speaking after laying the foundation for a joint venture between Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) for making reinforced wall panels from phosphogypsum.

Mr. Paswan said it should be possible to explore expansion of capacity at FACT for production of complex fertilizers for which there was growing demand in the country. He said that the profitability of FACT would improve once the feedstock was changed from the current naphta to LNG for which a re-gasification terminal was expected to be commissioned in Kochi by 2012.

Mr. Paswan also said that efforts were on to link Kochi to the national gas grid.

The Minister praised the efforts made by the employees and management of FACT to revive the fortunes of the company that saw one of its hardest years during 2007-08. He promised to support the fertilizer company in all its new ventures.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, who presided over the function, opened the building made from gypsum wall panels for public demonstration.

He said that the new technology was a solution to the problems like shortage of river sand and cement faced by the construction industry in Kerala. He congratulated the management and employees of FACT for initiating projects for reviving the old glory of FACT. He specially lauded their efforts that had resulted in a net profit of Rs.5 crore for the company during last financial year.

T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said the long-term viability of FACT’s new projects should be ensured. He also congratulated a senior bureaucrat from the State whom he did not name for making big efforts to bring the rapid wall-making enterprise to Kochi.

Chairman of the Central Warehousing Corporation N.K. Choubey and Chairman and Managing Director of FACT George Sleeba exchanged MoU documents for a joint venture between the two public sector companies for setting up a container freight station at Udyogamandal.

Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim, Minister for Public Works Mons Joseph, K. Chandran Pillai and P.C. Thomas, MPs, and others offered felicitations.