Honeywell Dedicates Oxygen Generation Plant to Support Haryana Government’s Fight Against COVID-19

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Karnal: Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the philanthropic arm of Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company has set up an oxygen generation plant of 600 litres per minute (LPM) capacity at Civil Hospital, Gharaunda, Karnal. The plant, which can support 60+ patients at a time, was inaugurated in the presence of Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana.

“Since the outbreak of new variants, we are on alert and working actively towards strengthening the medical infrastructure, including bolstering oxygen supply,” said Shri Manohar Lal Khattar. “Concerted efforts by government and corporates are key to fighting this pandemic. It is encouraging to see Honeywell coming forward to set up this oxygen plant in Haryana, which will help bring life-saving oxygen supply to patients in the long run.”

Ashish Gaikwad, President, Honeywell India and Director, HHSIF, said, “Honeywell is pleased to partner with the government to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the collective efforts to manage patient care during the pandemic. A timely and adequate oxygen supply can help save lives and is an essential medical aid for COVID-19 patients. We are pleased to announce the setting up of 10 oxygen generation plants of 600 litres per minute (LPM) each in far-flung districts of Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Karnataka to enable inclusive healthcare for all. We are especially thankful to the Government of Haryana for supporting us in our endeavour.”

These plants are being set up under the supervision of Americares. Each plant has a capacity to generate 600 LPM, enough to cater to the needs of a hospital with more than 150 intensive care units (ICU) beds. The oxygen generated on site will be directly supplied to hospital beds, including those in ICUs. Honeywell is also funding the annual maintenance contracts of these plants for two years to ensure they function smoothly after the one-year warranty period has lapsed.

The second wave of the pandemic put immense pressure on the country’s healthcare infrastructure. The government has put in place a multi-fold strategy in anticipation of a third wave.[1] Honeywell, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, is helping the government build healthcare capacities. Earlier, HHSIF set up COVID Care Centres in Gurugram, Delhi, Nainital, and Pune, and established 10-bed ICUs in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company also donated 1,000 oxygen concentrators, 10 ventilators, 10,000 N95 respirators, and 2,500 PPE kits to various government and private hospitals across the country. 

In Haryana, specifically, HHSIF set up a 20-bedded fully-equipped COVID Care Centre in Gurugram, and donated oxygen concentrators, ventilators, N95 respirators, and PPE kits across government and private hospitals in the State.

Honeywell also partnered with the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR–IIP), to supply molecular sieve adsorbents (zeolites) to accelerate the setting up of Medical Oxygen Plants (MOP) in the country.