Development drive at Eppawala phosphate

Nimal Wijesinghe-Anuradhapura Additional District group correspondent and Amila Prabath Wanasinghe

A phosphate grinding plant and a fertilizer warehouse complex were inaugurated at the Eppawala rock phosphate factory on Tuesday by State Resources and Enterprise Development Minister Dayashritha Tissera.

The newly commissioned phosphate grinding plant. Picture by Amila Prabath Wanasinghe

The project is implemented at a cost of Rs 59 million. The authorities used three machinery units which process 10 tons of fertilizer per hour prior to the commissioning of the new plant.

The new plant is capable of producing 200 tons of apatite fertilizer per day in an automatically operating grinding methodology. Minister Tissera said the Eppawala rock phosphate deposit was saved by President Mahinda Rajapaksa defeating attempts by political leaders to sell the resource to the private sector.

“It is expected to expand the fertilizer production to enable to produce other fertilizer varieties to meet fertilizer subsidy requirements in future.

The Eppawala phosphate fertilizer production plant which had been deteriorating some years back has been revived by the new management chaired by Rear Admiral Daya Sandagiri.

The factory will be able to save foreign exchange of Rs billions being spent to purchase fertilizer, Tissera said.

Deputy Ministers Sarath Kumara Gunaratne, Duminda Dissanayake, Parliamentarian S C Muthukumaran and Rear Admiral Daya Sandagiri were also present.