Harnessing maximum benefits from Eppawala rock phosphate

The government is venturing into public private partnership with suitable foreign investors for the manufacture of phosphate fertiliser making use of the Eppawala rock phosphate deposit in the North Central Province, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

Arrangements are being made to establish a chemical fertiliser company jointly with the Lanka Phosphate Limited (LPL) operating under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Sufficient safeguards will be made against environmental damage and compensation will be paid to people who are to be relocated from surrounding areas due to the implementation of the new public private venture.

The aim is to save around US$ 38 million or more than 50 per cent of foreign exchange spent to import Triple Super Phosphate Fertiliser (TSP) for paddy and other crops cultivations and the difficulty in importing phosphate fertiliser due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, he disclosed.

Sri Lanka requires about 150,000 metric tons of TSP fertiliser annually and of this 95000 metric tons are imported per annum.

LPL is currently mining and processing to fulfill the local phosphate fertiliser requirement in the country, a top official of the company revealed.

LPL produces around 50,000 MT of Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) annually, for local requirement and it supplies to the farmers through private and public fertiliser companies.

Currently it produces two types of rock phosphate fertilisers namely Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) and High-Grade Eppawala Rock Phosphate (HERP) which are used as phosphate fertiliser for perennial crops in the country.