Sikkim:Local gas plant to insulate Sikkim from supply disruptions


RANGPO, December 26: An oxygen and nitrogen gas plant is set up to come up here at Singbell, Makha in East Sikkim from early 2010 in a bid to tap the huge industrial and hydropower project requirements in Sikkim and make the State self-sufficient in terms of oxygen and nitrogen gas requirements.

The unit, Nenamma Industry is targeting to start its production from January next year as ninety percent of the construction works are over. Construction works had started from January this year and the remaining 10 percent works are on and the factory will be fully set up soon, said the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) NK Agarwal.
Once production beings from January next year, the private gas plant will be churning out 500 cylinders of oxygen and 200 cylinders of nitrogen gas every day.
Though the company is targeting its market in Sikkim at the present, the CEO said that it will also expand its business outside the State as well.

Regarding the Sikkim market, Agarwal said that the market is Sikkim is good as the State has a slew of industries mostly pharma and hydel power projects are coming uip as well.

Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and is necessary for various biological processes, and is used as a fertilizer, usually in the form of ammonia or ammonia-based compounds. Compounds formed with halogens and certain organic compounds can be explosive.

Nitrogen is used in a broad range of industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum processing, glass and ceramic manufacture, steelmaking and other metals refining and fabrication processes, pulp and paper manufacture, and healthcare.

Oxygen gas is generally used in hospitals during medical treatment of the patients.
With Sikkim presently dependent on outside supply on these two gases, the gas plant at Singbell will be coming handy to make the State self-dependent in these two requirements. Sikkim also used to face crises of these two gases during the sporadic disturbances along the NH 31A.

Source: Sanjay Agarwal:Sikkim Express