Two fertilizer factories in Chittagong closed due to gas shortage

Staff Correspondent::

The country’s two largest fertilizer factories, Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) and Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO), located in Anwara, Chittagong, have already stopped production due to the gas shortage. This has also affected DAP Fertilizer Company Limited (DAPFCL). The factory is at risk of stopping production within the next week due to the lack of ammonia supply.

The people concerned believe that there will be a crisis in the next season due to the shutdown of production. Currently, production is going on somehow with stored ammonia.
Managing Director of the factory, Mohammad Moinul Haque, said that it will not be possible to continue production at DAPFCL unless ammonia supply from CUFL and KAFCO resumes. Currently, production is going on somehow with stored ammonia, but the factory will be closed when it runs out.

DAPFCL was established under BCIC with the aim of ensuring balanced fertilizer use in the country and meeting the demand for nitrogen and phosphorus-rich compound fertilizers. The factory, located in Rangadia, Anwara, Chittagong, has two units (DAP-1 and DAP-2) with a production capacity of 800 tons per day. Although commercial production started in 2006, production has now come down to 600 to 700 tons per day. If the stock runs out, production will stop altogether.

Since its establishment, DAPFCL has been dependent on ammonia supply from neighboring CUFL and KAFCO. But the recent closure of those two factories has disrupted the supply. As a result, it will be inevitable to stop production if the ammonia stock runs out.
Moinul Haque further said that most of the equipment in the factory has expired and there is also a manpower shortage, which is one of the reasons for the decline in production. However, despite these problems, production was normal. Now production has stopped due to gas shortage.