Fatima Fertiliser Company Limited (a joint venture of Fatima Group having industrial experience of more than 50 years and Arif Habib Group with strong experience in financial services sector in Pakistan) is said to be implementing a fully integrated (NP, NPK, CAN and Urea) Fertiliser Manufacturing Complex having the installed capacity to manufacture 1.58 million tones of fertilisers per annum requiring natural gas of 110 MMCFD.
The project will produce 1.068 million tones of fertiliser per annum, resulting in an idle capacity of 512,000 tones of fertiliser per annum as only 75 MMCFD gas has been allocated thus far. The financial close of the project was achieved within the time-frame allowed by the ECC of the Cabinet in its decision dated August 16, 2006.
The ECC approved the timeline to commence production by November 2009. The management has plans to bring the Complex into production within the timeline approved by the ECC. A team of highly competent professionals having rich experience of fertiliser sector is managing the affairs of the Company.
The Complex is now at an advanced stage of construction at Sadiqabad District Rahim Yar Khan. There is over 3600 labour force working at the project and construction works are 62 percent complete. Investment in Plant and machinery and other infrastructure facilities worth $575 million or about Rupees 40 billion has already been made with major plant arrived at project site and under shipment against firm letters of credit.
Implementation of this project will substitute import of heavily subsidised fertiliser with local manufacturing, resulting in saving of foreign exchange of more than US $1350 million and reduction of import subsidy burden on the exchequer by about $855 million annually.
Key Contractors of the Complex are Sojitz Corporation (Japan), CNCEC (China), UHDE (Germany)) Kawasaki Plant Services (Japan) M.W.Kellogg (UK), SNGPL and Nespak. Syndicated Term Finance Facility has been extended to the project by a consortium of 16 leading domestic and foreign banks operating in Pakistan. Independent technical consultants for the lenders to the project Stone & Webster Consultants Limited (UK) are regularly monitoring the progress of the project which would commence production as per agreed and approved time line.