Brasília – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed contracts on Thursday (25) for the completion of Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant III (UFN-III) in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul state. The facility is part of the New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and is expected to receive more than BRL 5 billion [USD 1 billion] in investments to complete construction.
The project, which has been stalled since 2015, was cleared to resume after state-run oil company Petrobras conducted a new technical and economic assessment confirming its feasibility.
“Now it’s really happening. It should have started much earlier,” Lula said during the ceremony. “You can be sure this country will build its sovereignty by becoming independent from fertilizer imports. Just wait and see what happens,” the president added.
According to a statement from the Presidential Office, once commercial operations begin—expected in 2029—the facility will have the capacity to produce 3,600 metric tons of granular urea and 2,200 metric tons of ammonia per day, totaling about 1.3 million metric tons of urea annually, equivalent to approximately 16% of Brazil’s domestic demand for the fertilizer.
Also according to the Presidential Office, the plant’s location is considered strategic, as Brazil’s Central-West region accounts for about 40% of the country’s urea demand, driven primarily by corn, sugarcane, cotton, and pasture production.
Petrobras’ fertilizer portfolio under the New PAC currently includes four facilities: Fafen-BA, Fafen-SE, ANSA, and UFN-III. “Once these plants are operational, the state-owned company expects to supply about 35% of Brazil’s domestic urea market by 2029. Before production resumed at these facilities, 100% of the urea consumed in the country was imported,” the Presidential Office said.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
