Volkhov (Leningrad region) – The first stage of the investment project for the development of PhosAgro's Volkhov site has been completed with the launch of a new MAP production facility with a capacity of 231 thousand tonnes per year and the production of the first pilot batch of MAP.
The RUB 28 billion investment project was launched in March 2019 and is due to be completed by 2023. In the first stage, the MAP production line was put into trial operation. This consists of three facilities: liquid ammonia storage with a capacity of 490 tonnes, a MAP production line with a nameplate capacity of 231 thousand tonnes per year and a finished product warehouse with a capacity of 15 thousand tonnes. At the second stage of the investment project, mineral fertilizer production site No. 2 will be upgraded and pivoted to MAP production, which, together with other upgrades, will enable PhosAgro to increase total fertilizer production capacity at the site to 774 thousand tonnes per year.
Once the investment project is fully completed, an entirely new production complex will be created on the site of the old plant, which was built in 1932, and the total MAP production capacity will reach 870 thousand tonnes per year using best available technologies. The new production facilities will create more than 200 jobs for highly qualified specialists.
"Today we have witnessed the completion of the first stage of the investment project for the development of the Volkhov industrial complex. The launch of MAP production and the production of the first batch of this high-quality mineral fertilizer is an indicator that we have broken through a new frontier. Even external factors, such as the coronavirus pandemic, could not divert us from the course we set. All the planned work is being carried out on schedule, and I am confident that the investment project will be fully implemented in 2023. The investment project was among the first of Russia’s investments protection and promotion agreements (IPPAs), indicating its importance not only for PhosAgro, but also for the entire mineral fertilizer industry. The agreement was signed at the end of last year by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Leningrad region and PhosAgro. I am sure that the development of the Volkhov industrial complex will create a multiplier effect for the economy of the Leningrad region. Additional tax revenues to the budget within five years after the plant reaches full capacity, that is, in the period from 2023 to 2027, will amount to more than RUB 3.5 billion," said Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, during the official ceremony marking the launch of MAP production.