The government on Tuesday approved the extension of the applicability of the “New Investment Policy 2012” to three future entities of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd. (HURL) in Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni.
The government had announced the New Investment Policy (NIP) – 2012 in January 2013 and its amendment in October 2014 to facilitate new investments in the urea sector and make India self-sufficient.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Ministry of Fertilizers’ proposal to extend the applicability of the New Investment Policy (NIP)-2012 to these three entities of HURL,” the official statement said.
Established in June 2016, HURL is a joint venture between Coal India Ltd., NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation. It is reviving FCIL’s former Gorakhpur and Sindri units and GFCL’s Barauni unit by constructing new gas-based urea plants, each with an installed capacity of 12.7 lakh tons per year. The cost of the three HURL urea projects is ₹25,120 crore. GAIL supplies natural gas to these three units.
The commissioning of the three units will increase urea production in the country by 38.1 lakh tons per year.
The project will not only improve the availability of fertilizers for farmers, but also boost the economy in the region, including the development of infrastructures such as roads, railways, auxiliary industries, etc., alongside ensuring food security for the nation.
These three facilities aim to meet the demand for urea in seven states – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha.
All three HURL units have various unique features such as an explosion-proof control room equipped with DCS (Distributed Control System), ESD (Emergency Shutdown System) and environmental monitoring systems. There is no external wastewater disposal in these plants.
The plants are operated by highly motivated, dedicated and well-trained operators. The HURL Gorakhpur unit features India’s first air-powered rubber bulletproof dam measuring 65 meters long and 2 meters high.
