FACT to facilitate investment for Rs 3500 cr through JV

Kochi, Dec 2: As part of its revival plan, public sector Fertilisers and Chemical Travancore Limited (FACT) will facilitate in inviting investment to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore through joint ventures in Kerala.

Talking to newspersons here today, FACT Chairman and Managing Director G C Gopala Pillai said the company would help in inviting investment to the state in setting up a High Tech Park, Food Park and Defence Park through joint ventures (JV) here.

Mr Pillai said the company's equity in the JV would be land provided for the project.

The Rs 25,000 crore-high tech park and Rs 500 crore-food park would be established under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) rules through public-private partnership, he added.

He said through the setting up of the tech park the huge potential in the IT and IT enabled industry would be constructively tapped.

The Food Park would undertake processing of agro-products for domestic and foreign products and help in maximising the available agro-resources in the country, he added.

He said the Defence Park would be for the quality assurance of the non-sensitive work outsourced. A high-level Committee of FACT and the Ministry of Defence would be constituted to access the proposal, he added.

The development of the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) Road passing through FACT's area in Udyogmandal was also part of the development programme.

In a bid to establish Ammonia-Urea complex in JV with Adi Establishment of Syria a memorandum of intent was signed, he said.

Mr Pillai said after getting the requisite approval from the Board of Directors and the Centre, the Memorandum of Understanding(Mou) would be signed.

He said the Caprolactam capacity expansion in JV with DSM of Netherlands was at an advances stage and the capacity would be increased from the existing 50,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.

Mr Pillai said the spiralling cost of raw material, naphtha and other petroleum products, has adversely affected the interests of the company. The financial situation was vulnerable as there was lack of level-playing field in the production cost of fertilisers. '' While the gas-based companies get their main feedstock--natural gas-- at a comparatively cheap rate, the naphtha-based companies like FACT have to depend on costly raw material for fertiliser production,'' he added.

In an effort to resurrect the company, he urged the Centre to provide subsidy on actual cost of the production until installation of LNG facility in 2009.

He also urged the Government to make naphtha available at subsidised rate on par with the cost of LNG.

Presently only a small portion of the high increase in the cost of production was compensated through subsidy.

As a result of inadequate subsidy, the company was burdened with an additional cost of Rs 91 crore, till Octoner this fiscal, he noted.

UNI