Delhi govt invites applications to set up oxygen plants in city

According to the order, the Delhi government is aiming to set up liquid oxygen generation plants with a targeted capacity of 100MT and a minimum load of 50MT at the latest by December 31, 2022.

The Delhi government has invited applications from industries for setting up plants to augment the national capital’s oxygen generation and storage capacity by up to 1,900 metric tonnes (MT) by March next year, a notice issued by the state industries department said on Thursday. It also released a fresh set of guidelines for companies to avail of the new incentives and reimbursements being offered to boost oxygen production and storage.

Currently, 31 pressure swing adsorption plants are fully functional in Delhi, and 57 more are expected to be operational next month (Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times)

According to the order, the Delhi government is aiming to set up liquid oxygen generation plants with a targeted capacity of 100MT and a minimum load of 50MT at the latest by December 31, 2022. The same capacity has been set for installing non-captive pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants and air separation units (ASU), the deadline for which is March 31, 2022.

Currently, 31 PSA plants are fully functional in Delhi, and 57 more are expected to be operational next month. These include 26 plants allotted to Delhi under PM-CARES fund, of which 17 have been commissioned so far, government data showed. Together, they are capable of producing and storing about 64MT of oxygen.

The subsidy being offered by the Delhi government will be ₹20 lakh per MT and an additional electricity subsidy of ₹4 per unit for five years, the government guidelines stated.

In addition, the stamp duty paid for the purchase of land for medical oxygen generation plants or non-captive oxygen generation plants will also be reimbursed. “We hope that the policy will encourage firms to set up new manufacturing units and expand the production capacity of existing ones for uninterrupted oxygen supply to hospitals and nursing homes and facilitate storage and transportation of medical oxygen in Delhi. There is a ₹3 lakh subsidy per MT capacity for cryogenic tankers; and a one-time subsidy of ₹1 lakh per MT for liquid medical oxygen storage for hospitals, nursing homes and refillers,” said a senior official involved with the project.

The guidelines also state that if the deadlines are not met, or in case of any violation of terms, the incentives will be recovered from the beneficiary, with an annual interest of 18%.

Thursday’s order comes after the Delhi government on August 26 notified the “Medical Oxygen Production Promotion Policy 2021”, which seeks to make the Capital self-reliant in the production of medical oxygen.

The policy was approved by the Delhi cabinet on August 3.

The government has set up a seven-member committee to screen all applications and recommend the approved incentives to the secretary, industries department.