Hanfeng enters JV for new SCU plant

Toronto-Hanfeng Evergreen Inc. said Nov. 26 that it has entered into a 50-50 joint venture agreement with Anhui Linquan Industry Chemical Co. Ltd. to build and operate a sulfur coated urea (SCU) plant in Fuyang city, Anhui province, in China. The plant will be constructed at Linquan’s facility, and construction will commence once all permits and licenses have been obtained. Phase I calls for the construction of a 50,000 mt/y SCU plant at a gross cost of approximately C$6.6 million, which will be paid equally by the partners. The plant can be expanded upon successful commissioning and operations to accommodate further demand in the local market. “Anhui is one of the largest agricultural provinces in China and an excellent geographic choice for our second SCU joint venture” stated Xinduo Yu, Hanfeng’s president and CEO. “Additionally, our partner Linquan is one of the most profitable chemical producers in Anhui province, with more than 30 years of industry operating history and a well established customer base and distribution network.” The SCU facility will be constructed immediately next to Linquan’s urea finish line at its Anhui facility, significantly reducing the capital costs associated with the construction and installation of required infrastructure such as buildings, warehouses, underground connections, and heating systems, which are already in place. Linquan will supply urea for the joint venture using their leading coal gasification technology, which was developed with government support. The SCU produced by the facility will be marketed primarily in Anhui province and will provide an exceptional market for SCU as the primary crops include wheat, corn, and cotton, which are all high fertilizer consumption crops. “Slow release fertilizer is the future of the China agriculture sector,” said Mr. Zhang Zhaozhen, president of Linquan, “SCU is a perfect fit for the local market in Anhui province. In addition, SCU blended fertilizers can provide upgrades to our conventional fertilizers. We are very pleased to joint venture with Hanfeng, the leader in slow release fertilizer of China, and believe we will have a great future together.”