Production at Shahjalal Fertiliser Factory in Fenchuganj upazila of Sylhet has remained suspended since 13 March this year after Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (JGTDCL) stopped gas supply to the state-run entity.

The situation has arisen due to a gas shortage, as the country's highest urea producer has yet to pay Tk779 crore in outstanding gas bills to the state-run JGTDC.

As a result, there is uncertainty as to when Shahjalal Fertiliser Company Limited (SFCL) will be operational again.

Starting on 24 June 2012, construction of SGFL was completed in 2015 at a cost of Tk5,409 crore, including a Tk3,986 crore Chinese loan.

A Chinese construction company, ‘Komplant’ constructed the factory and handed it over to the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) in February 2016.

Within three months of the transfer, Shahjalal Fertiliser Company was formed under the BCIC.

On 14 August of the same year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, together with Chinese President Xing Jin Ping, formally inaugurated the production of the factory.

Since the very beginning of its founding, production has been repeatedly interrupted due to technical glitches, and the factory has never been able to achieve its production target.

With the capacity to produce 1,760 tonnes of fertiliser a day, the factory can produce 1,450 tonnes of urea, while liquid ammonia is produced as a by-product.

But the factory could not achieve its production target due to various reasons, including technical glitches, in the financial year 2022-2023.

After two phases of closure in the last financial year 2023-2024, the factory stopped production on 13 March due to a shortage of gas.

Against the current fiscal's production target of 380,000 tonnes, the factory produced about 240,000 tonnes until March, while achieving the year's target may not be possible, according to related sources.

If the ongoing crisis is not resolved, stakeholders fear that only the production equipment will be destroyed.

A local resident and senior journalist in Sylhet, Mujibur Rahman Jakon, said that the establishment of this new factory next to the old one was the demand of the people of this region.

But since the establishment of the factory, one crisis has followed another. Production is stopped several times a year for various reasons, including mechanical errors. In the meantime, the company has fallen into a new crisis, he said.

He drew the prime minister's attention to saving the important state-owned company, considering the demand for fertilisers in the country.

On the other hand, the SFCL has been suffering losses since it went into production.

Contacted, SFCL GM (accounts) Md Abdul Barik declined to comment on the matter.

But a concerned official, wishing anonymity, said the company has deposited Tk555 crore into the state coffers.

On the other hand, Jalalabad Gas Authority will receive Tk779 crore from SFCL from June 2022 until the last production, he added.

SFCL Managing Director Md Ziabul Hossain said that the price of gas has been increased from Tk4 to Tk16 per unit.

The company's fertiliser production costs around Tk36,000 per tonne, but the government-fixed retail price is Tk 25,000, resulting in a shortage of around Tk 11,000 per tonne.

The concerned ministries are working to figure out ways to compensate for this deficit, said the SFCL MD.

The MD also said that there is currently no mechanical fault in the factory. Production is off for gas only. Once gas is found, production will resume. The higher authorities are constantly being contacted in this regard.

He said Jalalabad Gas owes more than Tk700 crore. Efforts are being made to coordinate that money from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The managing director of the fertiliser factory said that he went to the secretariat a few days ago and discussed the current situation of the fertiliser factory with the concerned authorities and asked for remedial measures.

General Manager (Marketing North) of Jalalabad Gas T&D System Limited Engineer Liton Nandi said that gas supply is currently stopped at SFCL.

He said there is no problem with the gas supply line from our side, adding that the higher authorities would be better off saying if there is any problem regarding the transaction.

We will resume gas supply after receiving instructions from authorities, he said.