133 PSA oxygen plants opened in AP hospitals

Amaravati: Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday inaugurated, in virtual mode, 133 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants set up in government hospitals across Andhra Pradesh.

These plants, set up at a total cost of about Rs 400 crore, have an aggregate capacity of 85,208 litres per minute and could cater to 24,419 beds with oxygen supply system.

Another 11 PSA plants are in the process of being procured and installed.

The Government of India had already commissioned 32 PSA plants at 28 locations in the state, with a total capacity of 26,500 LPM.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said the state government was geared up to tackle the third wave of Covid-19 and the PSA plants were a step in that direction.

He said the government was also extending a 30 per cent subsidy to private hospitals, with 100-plus bed strength each, for setting up PSA plants.

"We have now achieved self-sufficiency in meeting the oxygen requirement, given the fact that the entire country faced severe shortage during the Covid-19 second wave last year.

We have also purchased 25 cryogenic tankers for transporting liquid medical oxygen, along with 74 LMO tanks," he said.

Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas, Municipal Minister B Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Covid Task Force Chairman M T Krishna Babu, Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal, Health Commissioner Katamneni Bhaskar and other senior officials attended the event. (PTI)