Business Standard

GNFC recommissions gutted plants

Image

Our Regional Bureau Ahmedabad
The extensively damaged ammonium nitrophosphate (ANP) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) fertiliser plants of the state government-run Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Company Ltd (GNFC) have been recommissioned after remaining shut for over four months.
 
A powerful blast had ripped the nitrophosphate complex of the plant apart on October 14 last, resulting in the death of five and a loss of over Rs 200 crore.
 
While the ANP plant began functioning on February 15, the CAN plant started production on February 17, company sources said. With this, the entire nitrophosphate complex of GNFC's Bharuch plant has been put back on stream.
 
Officials said that the nitrophosphate plant has been put back on stream three weeks before schedule.
 
The nitrophosphate complex installation had to be shut down following the blast on the night of October 14 last year. Five persons died and another 31 were injured, five of them critically.
 
The nitrophosphate complex has four divisions for manufacturing weak nitric acid (WNA), concentrated nitiric acid (CNA), ammonium nitrophosphate (ANP) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), all of which had to be shut down.
 
Around 40 persons were working at the site when the blast occurred. The ammonia, urea, methanol, formic acid and acetic acid plants however, continued to function unaffected.
 
By November last year, the WNA (which had suffered damages to a lesser extent) and the CNA plants I and II (which were more seriously damaged) began functioning again.
 
Officials said that the production started soon after the mechanical completion of the ANP and CAN plants on February 10.
 
GNFC sources stated that from the very next day of the blast, debris weighing 4,200 metric tonne had to be removed even as dismantling of damaged structures was taken up. Re-erection of mechanical structures weighing 750 metric tonne was then completed.
 
Reconstruction work required critically examining and re-commissioning more than 500 machinery equipment and structural stability of plant and surrounding structures.
 
Other major repairs required were in the cooling towers, cyclone conveyors, piping and insulation.
 
Company officials said that the plant stabilisation process will soon lead to full-load production of CAN and ANP. ANP (popularly known as Narmada Phos) and CAN (known as Narmada CAN) will now again be available in the market.
 
GNFC officials have however remained tight-lipped on the exact cause of the blast. Within 24 hours of the blast, a five experts had been appointed to ascertain the cause of the blast.
 
Headed by M M Bhatt, general manager (Technical), GNFC, other members of the committe are experts from the chemical industry, fire safety, explosives and disaster management and include V S Joshi, A D Modasia, A L Patel, V Shrinivasan, Y N Upadhya, R R Dave and D M Butala.

 
 

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Feb 20 2004 | 12:00 AM IST

Explore News