Tanzania to build $3-B fertilizer plant
Tanzania plans to start building a $3-B fertilizer factory in partnership with German firm Ferrostaal Industrial Projects, Danish industrial catalysts producer Haldor Topsoe and Pakistan's Fauji Fertilizer Co.
The factory will use natural gas to manufacture fertilizer and will be built in joint venture with a group of investors, according to the president's office.
The east African country said in February that an additional 2.17 Tcf of possible natural gas deposits has been discovered in an onshore field, raising its total estimated recoverable natural gas reserves to more than 57 Tcf.
Natural gas is one of the hydrocarbon sources of ammonia, a key fertilizer ingredient.
The plant, which will become Africa's largest fertilizer producer, will have a capacity of 3.8 metric Mtpd. It will built in southern Tanzania, close to large offshore gas finds, and is expected to be commissioned in 2020.
Fertilizer produced by the plant will be used to boost agriculture output in Tanzania, while surplus capacity will be exported to foreign markets.
Tanzania currently imports most of its fertilizer.
Agriculture contributes more than 25% of Tanzania's GDP and employs around 75% of the labor force, but growth is stifled by low crop yields.
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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