THOOTHUKUDI: SPIC (products) will be back in the market from October as the urea and DAP plants will become operational in the third week of September, said its Chairman A C Muthiah after commissioning the Single Super Phosphate (SSP) plant on the industry premises here on Sunday.
“The urea and DAP plants should have come into operation by May but due to a turbine breakdown it was postponed,” he told reporters, adding “The machinery is expected to arrive next week.” Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M K Alagiri will formally inaugurate the resumption of operations at a date which will be fixed soon.
Production & capacity expansion
“SPIC will produce 6.5 lakh tonnes of urea, 4.5 lakh tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), 1.5 lakh tonnes of NPK, one lakh tonne of SSP per annum and other micronutrients,” he said and added that 60 per cent of urea, 74 per cent of DAP and 100 per cent of SSP will be utilised in Tamil Nadu.
On future capacity expansion ventures in SPIC, he said that capacity expansion of urea can be done only after natural gas is supplied to Thoothukudi. However, production of DAP and NPK can be increased with the existing facilities, he added.
On company’s power plant, Muthiah said that environmental clearance has been obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and it has been located at an alternative site. “The initial capacity will be 550 MW and is expandable up to 1,000 MW,” he said, adding “It is expected to be commissioned in three years.”
On nutrient-based subsidy (NBS), he said that it is not favourable for urea especially when naphtha is used as feedstock.
Muthiah also said that Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals (TAC) and Heavy Water Plant (HWP) will resume operations soon. On employment opportunities, he said that around 1,300 persons will get direct and another 3,000 indirect employment. “During all these times no layoff was given but we managed to run,” he added.