Oxygen Gas Manufacturing Plant in Nagaland!

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 20  

With barely any major industries functioning in Nagaland, isn’t it nice to know that we have a fully functioning Oxygen Gas Manufacturing Plant in Dimapur? And no, it’s not a government operated unit, but the creation and result of a hardworking entrepreneur by the name B. Imti Aier. This is probably the 4th such oxygen plant in the entire Northeast.  

‘BMA Liquid Air Oxygen/Cylinders’ is located at 4th Mile, towards Referral Hospital, Dimapur. For Sales/Refill & Rental, their outlet is located at Ana-Ki Building, Khermahal, Dimapur. The plant is a fully automatic purification unit, and manufactures and sells oxygen cylinders. The plant is designed and developed by incorporating state-of-the-art technology in order to make them perform as per the plants of national standards.  

Oxygen plants are industrial systems designed to generate oxygen. They typically use air as a feedstock and separate it from other components of air using pressure swing adsorption or membrane separation techniques.  

The idea to set up an oxygen plant in Nagaland State started when B. Imti Aier heard stories and instances of how medical surgeries and operations could not be conducted when Karbi Anglong/Assam bandhs were imposed because of lack of oxygen cylinders which had to be brought from outside Nagaland. He felt certain that an oxygen plant was the need of the hour and would improve and benefit the health sector in Nagaland State.  

The entrepreneur had to undergo a long waiting process to set up the plant. It took him close to five years to obtain license, import heavy machineries and even then he had to go around in circles waiting for the power department to hook up the plant with suitable power transformer. He finally launched the oxygen plant in the year 2014.  

On the financial front, the entrepreneur stated that he has not received any subsidy or grants, despite his attempts to seek help from the State Government. He narrates that he followed the usual drill of trying to approach Government departments and bureaucrats but to no positive result. “As an entrepreneur, when the idea to set up an oxygen plant first came to my head, I was sure that it would be a venture which would be highly beneficial to the people and State of Nagaland. But the way things turned out, I am disappointed,” he said.  

But being a determined entrepreneur he did not let this deter his ambition. He managed to take loans from banking institutions and went ahead with the venture. Running an industrial unit solely is no small feat! B. Imti Aier is presently supplying oxygen cylinders-tanks for medical use to private hospitals in and around Dimapur. He has eight employees working and in a day the plant has the capacity to produce 5000 cylinders. But the State Government hospitals are yet to purchase from him, which is definitely a big dent to his business. Despite all the setbacks, even with high recurring costs to maintain the oxygen plant, he is still determined to keep it going.  

Offering advice to other Naga entrepreneurs he stated, “I want Naga entrepreneurs to come out from their comfort zone and do something which is positive for our own society without depending on outsiders. If we strive hard, everything is possible. This oxygen plant was built through sheer determination, on my own. I want people to be determined and do things boldly.”  

To add to this dismal plight, it should be noted that not a single Nagaland State Department official or representative has, so far, ever visited the oxygen plant.