A proposed expansion will see fertilizer manufacturer Yara double production at its facility near Belle Plaine, Sask., and bring a new product to the Canadian market, says a company official.
Yara announced June 11 that its board has approved a project that will produce an additional 1.3 millions tonnes of urea annually.
It will double the output at Belle Plaine and require a second production train and new facility, said Michael Schlaug, president and plant manager of Yara Belle Plaine.
Schlaug pegged current production at the plant at 1.1 million tonnes. The company produces 20 million tonnes of fertilizer globally and has set a goal of adding eight million tonnes of finished fertilizer to its current production.
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The expansion is still pending agreements with provincial authorities and an engineering procurement and construction contract.
“We need to conclude this contract before we are able to come up with a clear price tag,” said Schlaug.
He said the construction project could employ 1,000 to 1,500 people at its peak.
Once in production, 50 to 100 new workers will be required to man the new production train, adding to the almost 150 people now working at the plant.
Yara expects the plant to begin production in the second half of 2016. Construction remains down the road and won’t get into full swing for at least two more years.
“Four years for a project of that size is ambitious, but we’re sure that we can reach it,” said Schlaug.
Included in the expansion is an integrated world scale ammonia and urea line, as well as a new line of urea with sulfur.
Yara already produces the product in Europe and Schlaug said it will now market it to Canadian canola producers.
“We have to show that this is going to really help and improve the yields at the end of the day because that’s what the farmer wants,” he said.
Yara also announced its intention to add 300,000 tonnes at its Porsgrunn facility in Norway.
