A federal judge in Los Mochis has halted the construction of the US$5 billion nitrogen fertilizer complex that began construction in Topolobampo, Sinaloa, in Mexico last year (GM Sept. 7, 2018), according to the Mexico News Daily. Chief Judge Jose Francisco Perez Mier issued the order after locals argued that the plant would do irreparable damage to local lagoons. According to the paper, the plant has been delayed for years due to environmental concerns.
The first stage of the facility was to cost US$1 billion and produce 770,000 mt/y of ammonia and 700,000 mt/y of urea.
Proman AG, Wollerau, Switzerland, and its Mexican subsidiary, Gas y Petroquimica de Occidente, have been identified by the paper as the project investors. Proman has not commented on the plant, however, its website said it is expanding in Mexico.
Proman, one of the world’s largest methanol producers, is also involved in fertilizer, and is invested in three Trinidad nitrogen projects – N2000, AUM, and Caribbean Nitrogen Co. (CNC).