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National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) is looking to set up a new aluminium smelting facility with a capacity of 5 lakh tonnes and 1,250-MW captive power plant in Odisha’s Sundargarh district at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore.
“An independent consultant has confirmed that there is no water problem in Sundargarh district. Their report came a month back. Now, we are hopeful of getting State Government’s approval for the project,” Nalco Chairman, Mr B.L. Bagra, told PTI.
He added the proposed plant will require Rs 18,000-crore investment and would be executed in phases.
Aluminium smelter
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 the 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.
Water availability
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 the 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.
Cash reserves
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 on 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, Mr Bagra said the company will apply for a captive coal block, after it receives approval from the Odisha government for the project.
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