Decrepit Pre-Heater Unit
Zia Fertiliser counts production loss of Tk 15 lakh a day
Zia Fertiliser Company Limited (ZFCL) at Ashuganj incurs a daily loss of at least Tk 15 lakh in terms of production due to its decrepit BFW pre-heater unit.
The factory now produces 1,150 to 1,450 tonnes of urea fertiliser daily against its normal capacity of 1,600 tonnes as the BFW pre-heater unit is unable to cope with the full capacity, said officials.
BFW pre-heater unit (comprising boiler feed water pre-heater and its related end connection etc), a vital unit of the factory, went out of order three times from 2005 to 2007 and it caused suspension of production at the factory for a total of 16 days, ZFCL sources said.
As several leakages have developed in the BFW pre-heater unit, water and other ingredients are leaked out, affecting other parts of the factory, said a ZFCL engineer seeking anonymity.
If the BFW pre-heater unit is changed, all the components will have longer durability and production of the factory will get acceleration, he said.
A local expert committee that worked in this regard in 2008 found the BFW pre-heater unit vulnerable and risky and suggested replacing it immediately but the ZFCL authorities are yet to replace it, official sources said.
The factory was commissioned in 1981 and the BFW pre-heater unit was set up by its German manufacturer M/s Babcock Borsig Service GmbH.
M/s Babcock Borsig Service GmbH did not give the diagram and other documents of the BFW pre-heater unit to ZFCL.
According to the terms and conditions, the ZFCL authorities were supposed to purchase the unit from the manufacturer. For this reason, it takes a long time to purchase the unit from its manufacturer.
The ZFCL authorities have continued the process and paper work since October 2007 to purchase the unit from the manufacturer on priority basis but the process is yet to be completed.
When contacted, ZFCL Managing Director Md Osman Gani said they are going to purchase the BFW pre-heater unit at a cost of about Tk 44.43 crore and it will be replaced by November 2010.
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