Nalco plans Rs 18,000 cr investment in Odisha smelter

Nalco chairman B L Bagra says the proposed plant will be executed in phases

State-owned Nalco is looking to set up a new aluminium smelting facility of 5 lakh tonnes and 1,250 MW captive power plant in Odisha's Sundargarh district at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore, a top company official said.

"An independent consultant has confirmed that there is no problem of water in Sundargarh district. Their report came a month back. Now, we are hopeful of getting state government's approval for the project," National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) Chairman B L Bagra told PTI.

He added the proposed plant will require Rs 18,000 crore investment and would be executed in phases.

The Odisha-based company, which currently has an alumina refinery capacity of 2.1 MTPA and an aluminium smelter of 4.6 MTPA, has been looking to set up another smelter in the state for last three years.

However, its plans were not approved by the state government due to host of issues, including issues related to sufficient and uninterrupted water supply for the project.

To overcome the issue, the aluminium major had assigned Lahmeyer International to conduct a study last year on water availability for the project.

The consultant was appointed following a directive by the state government, as the proposed plant at Sundargarh district would require 90,000 m3 of water per day.

"After the report of the consultant, we are hopeful of getting state government's in principle approval. There is no issue of land, issues related to water seems to be settled. So it should not be the issue now," he said.

The Nalco Chairman further said that the company would go alone in developing the capacity as it is sitting on a comfortable cash reserves.

"Resources are not any issue with us. We are sitting at a cash reserve of Rs 5,000 crore, our debt liability is zero and we can raise debt upto Rs 24,000 crore. So, we will go on our own for the project, once approvals are in place," he said.

Asked about the coal availability for the project, Bagra said the company will apply for a captive coal block, after it receives approval Odisha government for the project.

"Our proposed project is near the Ib valley, which is a coal bearing region. So we will apply for a captive coal block, after the state government approval," he said, adding that the company is also ready to bid, if the Centre puts the block for auctions.

"If the coal blocks are put for auctions and the policies are changed, we are ready to bid. Aluminium smelters can not run without captive power plants, which require captive coal block. We can not remain dependent only on supplies from Coal India," he said.