Orascom begins production at US greenfield plant

Orascom Construction, a leading global engineering and construction contractor, said it has started production and sales at Iowa Fertilizer Company (IFCo), the first world-scale greenfield nitrogen fertiliser plant to be built in the US in more than 25 years. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 2,200 metric tonne per day (mtpd) of ammonia, 2,200 mtpd of urea synthesis, 1,200 mtpd of granular urea, 4,300 mtpd of urea ammonium nitrate and 900 mtpd of diesel exhaust fluid, with a combined sellable capacity of 1.5 to 2 million metric tonne per annum of products. A ceremony was held at the plant to inaugurate one of the largest private sector construction projects in Iowa’s history. It was attended by senior officials including Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa, and Kim Reynolds, Lt Governor, and the Lee County Board of Supervisors. A major EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) player in the greenfield chemical plant sector in the US and worldwide, Orascom Construction said it was proud to have built this challenging, state-of-the-art complex. Furthermore, Orascom’s wholly-owned US subsidiary, The Weitz Company, expanded its industrial capability through its significant involvement in the project.