Bangladesh’s government has signed loan deals with three international banks for funding Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corp.’s (BCIC) new 2,800 mt/d urea plant at Ghorashal in Polash Upazila in the Narsingdi District in central Bangladesh, according to the country’s Bdnews24.
Once built, the plant will be the largest of its kind in the country, and will replace two of BCIC’s oldest plants, Urea Fertilizer Factory Ltd. and Polash Urea Fertilizer Ltd.
State-run BCIC first announced the project in October 2018, and at the time was targeting first operations by 2022 (GM Oct. 19, 2018). The new plant’s capacity will be three times higher than the combined output of the two oldest plants, and is needed to meet Bangladesh’s growing demand for urea.
The estimated cost of the project is put at Tk104.6 billion (approximately $1.3 billion at current exchange rates), with over 80 percent of the funds to be provided by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Japan’s MUFG Bank, according to the report, citing government officials.
HSBC has jointly arranged $1.3 billion equivalent financing for BCIC to set up the plant, and is the largest financing backed by Export Credit Agency ever to be completed in Bangladesh, according to the report, citing the bank.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and China National Chemical Engineering will build the new plant.