Yogi Adityanath inaugurates UP's biggest oxygen plant to aid medical supplies

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday inaugurated a new state-of-the-art cryogenic oxygen plant, the biggest in the state, which will help with supplies in hospitals.

The ultra-high purity air separation plant with a capacity of 150 tonnes per days (TPD) in Ghaziabad's Modinagar will produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon for various industrial needs, according to INOX Air Products (INOX AP), which has commissioned the plant.

Adityanath, who inaugurated the plant virtually from his office in Lucknow, said the facility will help the state fight the coronavirus better.

“On this day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for 'Jan Andolan' for Covid-19, I am happy to inaugurate a 150 TPD capacity Liquid Oxygen Plant in Uttar Pradesh which will help us to fight Corona better,” he tweeted.

In another tweet he described the plant as the “biggest” in the state.

"After this, the demand and supply of oxygen in the state, especially when the entire country is battling strongly with the Covid-19 pandemic, will not be a hindrance in the treatment of patients in the state,” Adityanath said in a statement.

He said it will now be a thing of the past when the state was struggling for the availability of oxygen, adding that after the installation of High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC), the demand for oxygen has gone up in the Covid-19 hospitals.

“The new facility will come handy to bridge the gap between demand and supply,” he pointed out expressing satisfaction that such a facility came up during the “trying times” of the pandemic and when it was “required the most”.

The plant has come up as a part of a memorandum of understanding between INOX AP and the UP government during the 'Investors Summit 2018'.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by PM Modi on July 29, 2018.

“This is the sign of our commitment to bring investment in the state. MoU for this plant was signed in 2018 in the presence of PM Modi. It is our commitment and support to industry that this plant has started production,” Adityanath said in another tweet.

INOX AP said the plant will fulfil the medical oxygen need "of more than 200 hospitals".

“With a potential to produce 150 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen per day, the plant now takes state's current liquid oxygen manufacturing capacity from 115 metric tonnes to 265 metric tonnes per day,” it said in a statement.

The Chief Minister said the company will set up another plant in central UP soon.

Earlier this year, there were reports of shortage of oxygen supply at some hospitals in the state amid a surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, with opposition politicians expressing “concern” over the matter.