Zia Fertiliser silent again because of 'mechanical fault'

It will take one more day to resume production, official sources said yesterday.

The factory grinded to a halt at 6 am as a leak developped in the tube of amonium plant.

Its engineers and technacias are trying to repair the leak, General Manager Md. Ali Akkas said.

The factory is now incuring a production loss of 1500 tonnes of urea a day.

Overhouling of the factory was done at the cost of Tk 60 crore in August this year but the cooling tower damaged in a violent storm in 2004 could not be renovated properly, sources in the factory said seeking anominity.

In last two months after the overhauling, the factory stopped production four times, the sources said.

Till yesterday, the factory remind stopped for 39 days in the current financial year, incurring a production loss of 57,000 tonnes of urea.

Overhauling of the factory was started on July 10 and was completed in 35 days.

Engineers tried to operate it on August 14 but could not as there were some more faults. It took 11 more days for repair and production resumed on September 24.

On August 31, the factory again came to a halt as the boiler tube exploded, which needed two days for repair.

The factory stopped production again on September 14 when the compresser tube in the ammonium plant blasted with a big bang. Engineers repaired it the same night.

The factory has a poduction target of 4,50,000 tonnes of urea in the current financial year.

The ammonium plants and cooling tower go out of order frequently due to their dilapidated condition, the sources said.

The frequent disruption affects urea supply in its six districts under its command area. The districts are Brahmabaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Netrakona, Kishorgonj and Sunamganj.