Published : 06 Oct 2026, 11:48 AM
Updated : 06 Oct 2026, 11:48 AM
Jamuna Fertilizer Company Limited Jamalpur’s Sarishabari has resumed production after sitting idle for seven and a half months because of a gas shortage.
Production began around 3:10am on Monday, said Fazlul Hoque, head of the factory's production department.
He said the plant had been shut for 23 months, from January 2024 to November 2025, over a lack of gas and technical problems. A fresh gas crisis forced production to halt again from Feb 12 this year.
Gas supply resumed on Sept 20, but production could not start without “adequate pressure”, Hoque said.
The factory ideally needs a gas supply of 46 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) for uninterrupted urea production, though it can operate at 42 to 43mmcfd.
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited had been supplying gas at 27 to 28mmcfd, below the level needed to restart the plant.
Production began after the supply reached a sufficient level, Hoque said.
News of the full restart has brought activity back to the surrounding area.
Hotel owner Binoy Dutta said his family depends on the restaurant’s income, which dries up when the factory shuts.
He said the prolonged closure had forced him to borrow heavily and that he now hoped the plant would keep running.
Truck driver Shamim Mia said he used to get 20 to 25 trips a month when the factory was operating, but that had fallen to just two or three trips during the long shutdown.
Morshed Alam Talukder, general secretary of the factory's workers' and employees' union, said many were living in “inhuman” conditions during the long closure.
He hopes steady production will let workers return to regular life.
The fertiliser factory has a daily production capacity of 1,700 tonnes, but in recent years it had been producing around 1,200 to 1,400 tonnes because of low gas supply and mechanical faults.
The factory began with a daily capacity of 1,700 tonnes of fertiliser, but for several years, low gas pressure and technical faults held output to 1,200 to 1,400 tonnes.
It supplies fertiliser through 1,900 dealers listed with the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to 21 districts in northern Bangladesh, including Jamalpur, Sherpur, Mymensingh and Tangail.
Officials say that with normal gas supply, the factory produces about Tk 2 billion worth of fertiliser a month and earns about Tk 600 million in profit.
When production stops, it still pays about Tk 60 million in gas bills to keep the machinery running.
“Fertiliser production has started again at Jamuna after a long shutdown, and everything at the factory is running now,” said Hoque, who is also in charge of the ammonia and utility department. “I hope 1,200 to 1,400 tonnes can be produced every day.”
