Odisha presses Nalco for metal supply pact with Midal Cables

The aluminium maker had declined to enter into such an agreement in 2012

The state government has asked National Aluminium Company (Nalco) to initiate steps for executing a metal sales agreement with Bahrain-based Midal Cables, which intends to set up its wire rod factory in an upcoming aluminium park in the state.

The industry department had to intervene as Nalco had refused to sign a supply agreement with Midal in 2012. Interestingly Nalco is a joint promoter of the aluminium park where Midal's unit will be housed. On February 17 this year, Chairman of Midal Cables had met the state industry department secretary in this regard and sought support in terms of hot metal supply contract from Nalco.

“A confirmation from Nalco for execution of hot metal supply contract with Midal cables has become inevitable at this juncture for operationalisation of the Park,” said Vishal K Dev, state industries secretary in a letter to Nalco Chairman and Managing Director recently. “In this context I would request your personal intervention for early disposal of the matter,” he added.

Midal wanted long term supply agreement for a period of 25 years with Nalco, which had rejected the offer.

However, Nalco has maintained that it would provide hot metal to all the units being established in the proposed park regularly.

In 2012, Midal Cables Ltd had submitted a proposal to set up an aluminium conductor and rod manufacturing unit in the state at an investment of Rs 250-300 crore.Its facility was to come up within a hub for aluminium downstream and ancillary products near Angul, being developed jointly by the state's nodal land acquisition agency- Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco) and Nalco. The overseas investor had sought 30-40 acres of land in this aluminium park.Idco has already allotted land to Midal in the proposed park.

So far, Idco has aggregated more than 120 acre land and is implementing the external connectivity infrastructure to operationalise the park at the earliest, Dev said in the letter.