VIJAYAWADA: To augment oxygen manufacturing capacity from the existing 360 metric tonnes to 700 metric tonnes in the wake of the second wave of coronavirus and predictions of a third wave, the State government has come up with AP Industrial Gasses and Medical Oxygen Manufacturing Policy 2021-22, under which incentives will be given to private players to set up oxygen plants.The policy, unveiled by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, targets to set up 50 PSA (pressure swing adsorption) oxygen plants in both captive model (in hospitals) and in non-captive model.
The demand for medical oxygen has grown exponentially due to the COVID second wave and is currently at 600-700 MT. The state’s production capacity at present is a mere 364 MT and the rest of the demand is being met through supplies from Odisha, West Bengal and Karnataka. To ensure that the state does not land in a precarious situation due to lack of production, the State government felt that the need of the hour is to rapidly augment the oxygen producing capacity in the state so that self-sufficiency is achieved. The policy was prepared by the Industries Department in consultation with the Department of Health and Family Welfare taking into account the need for medical oxygen.
“The government has already received intent from companies such as Nova Air (Sri City), Air Liquide (Kadapa), Praxair (Chittoor) and Inox Air Products (Vijayawada/Guntur) to set up oxygen production plants. Further, six sick PSA units have already been identified and refurbished for producing oxygen,’’ the release said, adding there has been a lot of interest from entrepreneurs to set up small and medium scale oxygen plants which can be installed in a span of three to six months, and the policy has been designed to support these entrepreneurs. The 13 districts in the state have been classified into three zones for effective implementation of the policy.