Guwahati :  A major fertiliser project at Namrup in Assam, expected to generate over 300 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect employment opportunities, was formally launched on December 21 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing the bhoomi pujan of the Ammonia-Urea Plant. The project is being positioned as a key step towards fertiliser self-reliance in the Northeast.

The plant, slated for commissioning by 2030, will be developed at an estimated cost of over ?10,600 crore by Assam Valley Fertiliser & Chemical Company Limited (AVFCCL) within the existing premises of the Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation Limited (BVFCL) at Namrup. Officials said the unit will have an annual production capacity of 12 lakh metric tonnes of ammonia-urea fertiliser.

Once operational, the facility is expected to significantly reduce dependence on fertiliser imports and ensure timely availability for farmers across Assam, the Northeast and parts of eastern India.

The project follows approval by the Union Cabinet earlier this year. AVFCCL was incorporated in July as a joint venture involving the Assam government, Oil India Limited, National Fertilisers Limited, Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited and BVFCL.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi said the Namrup plant would strengthen the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by contributing to an Atmanirbhar Assam, creating employment opportunities for local youth and empowering farmers through assured fertiliser supply.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the project reaffirmed Assam’s emergence as a new growth engine of the Northeast under the “double-engine government”.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister paid tributes to the martyrs of the Assam Agitation at the newly inaugurated Swahid Smarak Kshetra. Accompanied by Sarma and senior officials, Modi toured the martyrs’ gallery and garlanded the statue of Khargeswar Talukdar, recognised as the first martyr of the movement.

Built at a cost of ?170 crore, the memorial commemorates 860 people who lost their lives during the six-year-long Assam Agitation that concluded in 1985. Officials said the site has been developed as a space for remembrance and public engagement, with facilities including water bodies, an auditorium, a prayer hall, a cycle track and a sound-and-light show depicting key phases of the movement and Assam’s history.