Hindalco to invest Rs 60 bn in downstream facilities in four years

Aditya Birla Group-owned Hindalco Industries Ltd, India's largest aluminium producer, will invest around Rs 60 billion in downstream facilities in India over the next four years.

Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco told media persons that the expansion of downstream facilities takes time and will be done in a phased manner.

Hindalco's proposal to expand its aluminium flat-rolled products unit at Lapanga, near Sambalpur has recently got the approval of the Odisha government. It will see an investment of Rs 40 billion.

For an extrusion plant, Hindalco has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat government entailing an investment of Rs 21 billion.

Hindalco at present has two extrusion plants in India. The plants are in Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh, and Alupuram, Kerala and are capable of producing around 0.06 million tonnes per annum products of various specifications and dimensions.

Pai said, Hindalco will invest around Rs 16 billion as capital expenditure in the current financial year.

"Rs 7-8 billion will be our normal maintenance capex and the balance will go to the expansion of Utkal Alumina and downstream faciltilies", he added.

The company will pump in Rs 13 billlion to ramp up Utkal Alumina capacity by 0.5 million tonne to 2 million tonnes per annum.

Pai expected that the acquisition of US based Aleris Corporation, a global aluminium rolled products major will be completed by April-May of next year.

The company will also look at coal mine auctions that is expected to take place by the end of November.