Four Indonesian coal firms keen to tie up with Nalco

Four Indonesian coal companies have shown interest to tie up with public sector National Aluminium Company (Nalco) for its 4 billion USD (Rs 18,000 crore) aluminium-cum-power plant complex in that country.

The four firms, which have responded to the Expression of Interest (EoI) bid floated by Nalco last month, are MEC Middle East, Bumi Resources, Energy Indonesia and Pram Dwi Jaya.

“We will go for technical evaluation of the bids before short-listing firms for invitation of commercial bid”, BL Bagra, director (finance), Nalco told Business Standard. The process will take about a month, he added.

Nalco proposed to set up a 0.5 million MT aluminium smelter and 1250 MW coal based thermal captive power plant in East Kalimantan province in Indonesia. While the company intends to import approx. one million tonne of alumina annually from its facilities in India to feed the aluminium smelter, the coal for the captive power plant will be procured locally.

Nalco needed 8 - 10 million tonnes per annum of thermal grade coal, 4-5 MTPA of which was for its East Kalimantan project and the rest for its energy requirement elsewhere.

Hence, the company invited EoI bid from competent miners or concession holders for coal reserves in East Kalimantan province in Indonesia having coal mines in close proximity to seaport, fresh water source and other infrastructure facilities.

Nalco would be an equity partner in the coal mining operation, Bagra said, adding, after the scrutiny of technical and financial bids, talks will be held with the selected party in this regard. But the extent of shareholding will depend on the total volume of production from the mine, volume required by Nalco and the valuation of the asset.

The finalization of the JV partner will be followed up with preparation of detailed project report (DPR) for the venture. The JV agreement is a pre-curser to DPR as this will provide a clear picture on the cost to be borne towards procurement of coal and transportation.

With the debt equity ratio of the Rs 18,000 crore-project being pegged at 70: 30 and Nalco intent on having at least 50 per cent stake in it, the equity exposure of the company is estimated at around Rs 2,700 crore.

After the JV agreement and finalization of DPR, the company will seek the approval of its board and the government for equity investment and approach foreign financial institutions for financing the project. The debt component at Rs 12,400 crore being a sizeable amount, the company will seek international consortium financing, Bagra said.