03-02-2015

Topsoe part of consortium to develop large-scale fertilizer plant in Tanzania

A consortium consisting of Haldor Topsoe A/S, the German company Ferrostaal Industrial Projects GmbH, and the Pakistani industrial enterprise Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd, is going to develop a large-scale fertilizer complex in Tanzania together with the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation.

The project is currently the largest investment project in Tanzania with an investment sum of more than one billion USD, and today the project is being discussed as part of an official state visit to Tanzania from Germany’s President Joachim Gauck.

The fertilizer complex is expected to be on-stream in 2019/20, producing 1.3 million tonnes of fertilizer per year for both the local and international market. Agriculture in Tanzania will stand to benefit in particular. The sector makes up approximately one third of Tanzania’s gross domestic product, with more than 75% of the population working in the agricultural sector. It is expected that 5,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created during the construction and operating period.

The consortium is providing support through the entire project development, including financing, technology, product-offtake as well as construction, maintenance and operation of the plant. As part of this, Topsoe’s role will be to deliver license, engineering, hardware and catalysts for the fertilizer plant that will be located in the South of Tanzania, in the Mt. Wara area, where there are existing port facilities and connections to a future natural gas grid.

The consortium emerged as the winner of a tender carried out by the Tanzanian government in 2013 and is currently in exclusive negotiations with gas suppliers regarding the supply of gas for the fertilizer complex. Furthermore, Tanzanian shareholders and off-takers will also play a significant part in the further development and realization of the project.

“We believe the plant will leave a positive footprint in Tanzania enabling the country to monetize its huge gas reserves and in the process create jobs and boost agricultural productivity. Ammonia is the primary ingredient in fertilizer and the plant will improve local supply significantly. From Topsoe’s perspective the project is also extremely interesting. Not only does it represent a substantial contract value on its own terms, it also holds the potential of becoming a long term steady source of income due to our planned co-ownership of the plant,” says Bjerne S. Clausen, Chief Executive Officer in Topsoe.

For more information, please visit www.topsoe.com