1,183 PSA oxygen plants under PM CARES fund operational, says govt

Ministry of housing and urban affairs officials said around ₹1,200 crore (almost ₹1 crore per plant) has been spent on installing these plants

Of the 1,224 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants sanctioned by the Union government under the PM CARES fund, 1,183 are currently operational and work on the remaining plants will be completed by October-end, secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs, Durga Shanker Mishra said on Wednesday.

Medics at a newly inaugurated PM CARES funded PSA oxygen plant in Bengaluru on October 7. At present, 1,183 PSA oxygen plants are operational. (PTI)

“In 22 states, we have completed the work, while there are nine states where the work is more than 90% complete. We are using advanced technology like the Internet of Things to track the performance and functioning of all the PSA plants. Currently, 24 plants are on IOT system. By December-end, all plants will have IOT,” Mishra said.

Mishra added that of the 3,850 PSA plants sanctioned by the Centre, central public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other sources such as state governments, 2,494 (close to 65%) are providing 3,324 metric tonnes of oxygen daily, as on October 13.

HUA ministry officials said around ₹1,200 crore (almost ₹1 crore per plant) has been spent on installing these plants.

The installation of PSA plants (under PM CARES) has been carried out by the National Highways Authority of India, the Central Public Works Department, states and the National Buildings Construction Corporation.

In five states — Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Maharashtra — the work of installing PSA plants (under PM CARES fund) is more than 90% complete. All plants have a warranty of 18 months to five years, Mishra said.

According to officials, the HUA ministry has also developed a portal for monitoring the status of oxygen supply at the operational plants.