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Paswan visit an impetus to PSUs

Staff Reporter

He will be in Kochi on May 9 and 10

KOCHI: The two-day visit of Union Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals Ram Vilas Paswan to Kochi is being eagerly looked forward to at Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. (HIL) and Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd. (HOCL), which are among the bigger public sector undertakings (PSUs) here. He will be in Kochi on May 9 and 10.

The Minister will be at the HIL unit to participate in the 50th anniversary and the Factory Day celebrations. HIL was incorporated in March 1954 for supply of DDT to the National Malaria Eradication Programme launched by the Union Government. The Udyogamandal unit was set up in 1957 and products from the unit include DDT and Dicofol.

Package

While trade unions at the HIL unit hope to meet the Union Minister, they are also expecting Mr. Paswan to make an announcement on the impact of the package approved by the Bureau for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) for the Udyogamandal unit.

A spokesman for the trade unions said on Wednesday that the employees were also expecting Mr. Paswan to speak about the diversification plans of HIL and plans to make the Udyogamandal unit a zero-discharge unit.

Mr. Paswan will also visit HOCL's phenol complex.

Crucial issues

FACT is also looking forward to the Union Minister's visit as it would have a definite impact on the slew of new projects being considered by the company.

One of the crucial issues is the participation of FACT in a possible joint venture with Syria-based Adi Establishment for a urea-ammonia complex in Egypt.

The proposal for the joint venture between the Adi Group and Indian fertilizer companies is under consideration of the Union Government.

The joint venture envisages an investment to the tune of Rs.2,250 crore.

FACT has also been approached by a consortium of South Korean companies for setting up a gypsum-based products unit with an investment of around $50 million. Joongang Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Seoul, one of the companies involved in the proposed joint venture, has the technology and patent for converting gypsum sludge into products for the building industry.

Facility

The proposed facility will produce three lakh boards of 180cmx90cmx9.5mm size daily and has great export potential.

The Korean partner company had also expressed its willingness to market the products.

Mr. Paswan is expected to visit the closed urea plant at Ambalamedu in view of considerations that indigenous urea production should be stepped up to meet the shortage of fertilizers in the country.

The FACT management is also proposing to expand capacity for caprolactam production and also a joint venture for production of nylon and downstream products based on caprolactam.

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