Yara International has approved an expansion of its nitrogen fertilizer plant at Belle Plaine, west of Regina.

The Norwegian company will fast track development of the expansion, which will add 1.3 million tons of urea production annually.

"We will increase our presence and scale in the North American market by more than doubling our capacity at the site," said Yara President and CEO Jorgen Ole Haslestad in a news release.

Part of the urea produced will be with sulfur, which will meet the increasing demand from canola grown in Western Canada.

Yara expects to complete the expansion in the second half of 2016.

The final decision to implement the project is subject to environmental approvals and an agreement with Saskatchewan related to utilities.

Yara purchased the fertilizer plant from Mosaic and the Saskatchewan government for $1.6 billion in 2008.