PSUs must expedite process of setting up urea plant at Namrup in Assam: Gowda

Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Thursday asked public sector firms to expedite the process of setting up a urea plant at Namrup in Assam to achieve self-sufficiency in domestic production.

Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Thursday asked public sector firms to expedite the process of setting up a urea plant at Namrup in Assam to achieve self-sufficiency in domestic production. Gowda reviewed the progress of this upcoming plant.

The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Food Processing Rameshwar Teli, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Industries & Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Union Fertilisers Secretary R K Chaturvedi, and Fertilisers Additional Secretary Dharam Pal.

Oil India Ltd CMD Sushil Chandra Mishra, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd CMD S Mudgerikar, Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd CMD Asim Kumar Ghosh, and National Fertilisers Ltd Director Nirlep Singh Rai were also present. Gowda said that bringing development in the northeastern region is priority of the current government.

''It is, therefore, imperative to expedite the process of setting up of a new state-of-the-art urea unit at Namrup, in line with the vision of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to attain self-sufficiency in urea production,'' he said.

The urea unit would cater demands of local farmers for fertilisers, but also export markets, Gowda added.

He asked the ''CMDs (chairman and managing directors) of stakeholder public sector units to conclude their internal process regarding this project at the earliest''.

The Assam finance minister said the state government is ready to extend all kind of support to the Namrup project, including financial support to best extent possible.

Teli said the Namrup-IV unit is important for ensuring local development and creating job opportunities, and therefore the project needs to be expedited.

''CMDs of stakeholder PSUs agreed to expedite their internal process on the Namrup project.