Pakistan Steel Mills: Can a closed oxygen plant make up for the oxygen shortage caused by Corona?

 

The third wave of Corona in Pakistan is not only growing the amount of people infected and dying from the virus, but also increasing the burden on the country's medical setup. In this regard, the deficiency of oxygen given to patients harshly affected by the virus is also being detected.

 

Assad Umar, the federal minister for planning and head of the National Command and Control Center for Corona in Pakistan, said last week that 90 percent of the country's oxygen was being used up in the coming days. Problems in oxygen stock can also happen. Assad Omar said that oxygen could be imported if needed.

 

In this condition, for the past few days, some quarters have been challenging that the supply of oxygen to Corona patients in the country be guaranteed by activating the oxygen plant of Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi.

 

In a note to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the National Engineers Well-being Association, an organization for the well-being of engineers in Pakistan, offered services for the restoration of the Pakistan Steel Mills oxygen plant.

A four-member government allocation then stayed the inactive oxygen unit of Pakistan Steel Mills and reviewed the plant. The determination of the visit was to measure the viability of rehabilitating the plant and to frame a strategy in this regard. A team from the National Engineers Welfare Association also stayed the plant, after which a review report will be acquiesced to the authorities.

 

This oxygen plant of Pakistan Steel Mills has been closed since 2015. The oxygen formed here is used to make steel from iron ore. The plant has the volume to produce 520 tons of oxygen per day.

"The plant is calculated to produce oxygen for industrial resolves, which produces 90 per cent oxygen gas, while medical gas produces medical gas," Murtiaz Ahmad Awan, former manager of Pakistan Steel Mills' oxygen plant, told. The plants yield liquid oxygen. However, the oxygen produced here can be compressed and used in hospitals.

Oxygen plant maintenance

 

Mohsin Ali Khan, secretary of the National Engineers Welfare Association and former chief engineer of Pakistan Steel Mills, told that he projected the plant could take at least three to four months to assimilate.

"The two major tasks are that the seawater pipeline to keep the plant cool has broken down and there is no continuous power supply to run the plant," he said.

 

According to Mohsin Ali Khan, it is early to estimate the cost of rehabilitation but it will be in crores. I think it will cost Rs 25-30 crore.

 

According to Mohsin Ali Khan, most of the extra parts for the restoration of the plant can be delivered locally but some parts will have to be imported from abroad.

 

"One of the two components at the plant is also in bad disorder and will have to call in a foreign expert, but most of the work can be done by local engineers," he said.

 

On the other hand, rendering to some specialists, restoring the oxygen plant of Pakistan Steel Mills is a long and difficult task which does not seem possible.

Hospital oxygen plants 

In the estimation of some quarters, the only feasible option is to make oxygen in the country's major government hospitals rather than stimulating the inactive oxygen plant of Pakistan Steel Mills. According to him, oxygen manufacture plants in hospitals produce limited amounts of oxygen but their cost is also very low.