Talcher Fertiliser Plant Delays: COVID-19 & Chinese Contractor Issues

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) The revival of the Talcher fertiliser plant in Odisha has encountered significant delays, following the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent procurement and construction issues with its Chinese contractor, Parliament was informed on Friday.

Talcher Fertilizers Ltd (TFL) project, India's first coal gasification-based ammonia urea plant with a planned capacity of 12.7 lakh tonne per annum, has struggled to maintain its timeline since contracts were awarded to China's Wuhuan Engineering Company Ltd (WECL) in September 2019.

As of February 28, 2025, the overall project completion stands at 65.66 per cent, with Outside Battery Limit (OSBL) packages reaching 77.62 per cent completion, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said in her written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Several OSBL components, including pipe rack, plant lighting, Boiler-1, raw water treatment plant, and DM water plant, have reached advanced stages of mechanical completion, she said.

The project, initially targeted for commissioning in September 2024, has missed its deadline due to pandemic-related disruptions that began when COVID-19 emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, the headquarters of the main contractor.

Joint venture partners and the TFL board are conducting regular reviews of the project's progress, while TFL maintains frequent video conferences with WECL to resolve pending engineering issues, the minister added.