Production halted at Shahjalal Fertilizer Company for over four months now, racking up losses over Tk 500 crore

Sylhet Correspondent: The largest state-owned fertilizer factory in Sylhet, Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited (SFCL), has ceased production for four months now, caused by a gas shortage.

The production halt costs the government approximately TK 4.5 crore daily. Neither factory authorities, nor the government, are able to provide any specific date till today, for when production will resume.

The SFCL requires 45 million cubic feet of gas daily for fertilizer production. However, gas supply to the factory was cut off on March 12th due to shortages, forcing production to halt.

Over the past four months, the government has incurred a loss of Tk 523.6 crore due to this shutdown, claim factory sources. There is also a growing concern about the factory’s machinery gathering rust and becoming inoperative, due to the prolonged inactivity.

Several workers at the factory mentioned that it briefly reopened for two days a month ago, but production was halted again due to machinery issues arising from the extended shutdown.

Leaders of the Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Workers and Employees Union held a discussion with journalists at the office of Fenchuganj Upazila Parishad Chairman Ashfakul Islam Sabbir regarding this issue on Thursday afternoon.

Raju Ahmed Munna, the General Secretary of the Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Workers and Employees Union, stated that production at the factory has been suspended due to the gas crisis. The prolonged shutdown has left the workers and employees in despair, particularly those who rely on daily wages.

He further added that Fenchuganj is only 25 kilometers away from Sylhet, where gas has been found in Kailashtila, with a daily extraction of 21 million cubic feet. Despite the availability of gas in Sylhet, the country’s largest urea fertilizer factory remains closed.

Repeated attempts to contact Gopal Chandra Ghosh, the Managing Director of Shahjalal Fertilizer Company, for comments on this issue were unsuccessful.

Ashfakul Islam Sabbir, the Upazila Parishad Chairman, commented that the suspension of natural gas supply, the primary raw material for fertilizer production, has halted production at the factory. This poses a risk to the factory’s various chemicals, catalysts, and advanced machinery. The shutdown has also sparked frustration among the workers’ union and local residents.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the construction of the fertilizer factory, at a cost of over Tk 5409 crore, in 2012. The factory commenced production on March 6, 2016.

For the 2023-24 fiscal, the production target was set at 380,000 metric tons, of which it had produced 238,812 metric tons till March 11, the day before it was forced to shut down.