The Hindu Business Line : Aditya Birla Group firms up plans for aluminium smelter in Orissa

ADITYA Birla Group, jointly with one of its group companies — Indian Aluminium Company Ltd (Indal) has firmed up a Rs 8,500-crore investment plan for a greenfield aluminium smelter in Orissa.

The smelter with an annual capacity of 2.6 lakh tonnes will be set up near Rengali-Lapanga.

The smelter will have a 650 MW capacity captive power plant and a captive mine will be developed to meet the plant's coal requirement. As a result, the site of the project has been selected at the vicinity of Talabira-II virgin coal block.

The Orissa Government has allotted a bauxite mine at Raygada district, with a proven reserve of about 85 billion tonnes of bauxite.

The necessary land for the project was identified and acquisition process has started. Since transportation of coal is to be done through conveyors to the captive power plant and filling back of the mine void be done by ash for an environment friendly operation, an Adita Birla Group source said that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forestry has approved the environment clearance for the project.

The Ministry is reported to have cleared the project taking into consideration the location of the mines and the merits of coal transportation and ash handling.

However, the proposed aluminium project has suddenly fallen into trouble with the 21st Screening Committee in the Union Coal Ministry, while evaluating a few other projects related to Talabira - II coal block, did not consider the merit of Indal/Aditya Birla Group of getting the Talabira-II coal block for captive mining purposes.

It is understood that the Screening Committee prefers to recommend the Talabira virgin coal block to Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) for its proposed 4,000 MW capacity thermal power plant in Orissa.

However, the Aditya Birla group has information that NLC is yet to order the feasibility report, finalise power purchase agreement and even identify land for any power project in Orissa. The corporation, on an introductory letter to the Orissa Government on August 2003, expressed its interest for a mega power project in the State, while Indal/Aditya Birla Group has already prepared a detailed project report for the greenfield aluminium smelter on the basis of the Screening Committee's earlier assurance of Talabira-II coal block for captive mining purposes.

It is thus presumed that the denial of Talabira-II coal block at this stage will jeopardise Indal's project that has completed all pre-project activities and is ready for the execution stage.

It is stated that the proposed aluminium smelter will be in addition to Indal's ongoing hundred per cent export-oriented alumina project in joint venture in Orissa. The two-million-tonne-per annum capacity alumina project is being set up jointly with Alcan of Canada.

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