Prime Minister to Lay Foundation Stone of India’s First Commercial-Scale Coal-to-Ammonium Nitrate Project in Odisha

• First commercial-scale Coal-to-Ammonium Nitrate plant in India, using Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) technology to convert domestic high-ash coal into syngas and onward to ammonium nitrate (a key explosive/fertilizer feedstock).
• Located at Lakhanpur, Jharsuguda district, Odisha, within Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) command area; total project outlay ~Rs 25,016 crore for the gasification complex; PM lays foundation on 20 June 2026.
• Implemented by BCGCL (Bharat Coal Gasification & Chemicals Ltd.) — a 50:50 JV of CIL and BHEL.
• Strategic anchor of the National Coal Gasification Mission (target: 100 MT coal gasified by 2030); aims at import substitution (India imports a major share of ammonium nitrate).