As mentioned earlier, the use of chemical fertilizer has gone up quite dramatically in Bangladesh since the early sixties. Given the abundance of natural gas, Bangladesh’s only significant mineral resource, it seemed the obvious thing to attempt some degree of import-substitution in this area. The first urea plant was set up in Fenchuganj in Sylhet. The plant was commissioned by the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation in 1958, the contract being awarded to Kobe Steel Ltd. of Japan. The total cost was Rs. 244 million with a foreign exchange component of Rs. 136 million (i.e. a total cost of $51.2 million, with a foreign exchange component of $28.6 million, at the then prevailing exchange rate). The plant had a rated capacity of 106,000 metric tons per year, and went into production in 1962.