By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 30, 2015 : Uncertainty over opening of closed Talcher Fertileser unit in Odisha is likely to end with Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd (RCF), a Central PSU, chairman and managing director R G Rajan indicating its revival by 2018. 

“We are investing Rs 8,000 crore to revive the fertiliser complex at Talcher. The company has already received pre-Public Investment Board (PIB) clearance. We now expect final PIB and Cabinet clearance in the next 3-4 months. The project is expected to go on stream by 2018,” Rajan told media persons on Saturday in Mumbai.

A consortium of RCF, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Coal India Limited (CIL) and Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL) began the process for revival of the unit a couple of years back during the UPA regime. The consortium had unveiled an ambitious plan to invest around Rs 14,000 crore over the next four years for expansion of other closed units of FCI.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in February last year between these companies for revival of the Talcher unit. The MoU provided for formation of two separate joint ventures to revive the plant with a production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum. The first joint venture was for upstream coal gasification with GAIL having the major stake. The second JV was for urea-cum-ammonia nitrate complex with RCF and CIL being the major stakeholders.

While RCF and CIL have around 42 per cent stake each in the JV for downstream, GAIL has 5 per cent stake and the rest was with FCIL.

In the upstream JV, around 80 per cent stake was held by GAIL and about 10 per cent stake was with the technology provider of coal gasification. The rest was with FCIL.

This project will utilize state-of-the-art coal gasification technology for production of urea. Separate urea and ammonia plants will be there in the unit, sources said.

In 2002, the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) ordered closure of FCI’s Talcher unit as it was making losses over a period of time. After nearly a decade, revival plans were mooted during the UPA government in 2012.