New Delhi, June 19 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of India's first commercial-scale coal-to-ammonium nitrate project at Lakhanpur in Odisha's Jharsuguda district on June 20, marking a major step towards energy security, import substitution and industrial self-reliance.

The Rs 25,016 crore project is being developed by Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited, a joint venture between BHEL and Coal India Limited. It will produce 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per day using indigenous coal gasification technology developed by BHEL.

Coal gasification converts coal into synthesis gas (syngas), which can be used to manufacture products such as methanol, urea, ammonium nitrate, synthetic natural gas and o...