Unveiling a new plan for high growth through diversification and expansion, aluminium giant NALCO is set to invest more than Rs 33,000 crore in a host of sectors, including energy, to boost its productivity and profitability.
“NALCO is embarking upon an ambitious growth plan involving a massive investment of more than Rs 33,000 crore in the next three to four years, not only in the aluminium sector but also in the energy sector,” NALCO Chairman and Managing Director Ansuman Das told presspersons.
“NALCO has begun a new odyssey to conquer the challenges of the present and threats of the future with its new corporate plan ... this will give a significant boost to the company’s productivity and profitability,” he said.
The plan encompasses expansion — both brownfield and greenfield, diversification into energy and the non-ferrous metal sectors, backward integration, merger and acquisition, Das said after NALCO’s annual general meeting held here yesterday.
Referring to greenfield projects, the NALCO CMD said the company is planning to set up a Rs 5,500-crore alumina refinery in Gujarat with a one million tonne per annum capacity.
Preparation of a detailed project report for this has started.
Similarly, the company is planning a Rs 16,450-crore smelter of 0.5 MTPA capacity and power plant of 1260 MW capacity in Odisha’s Sundargarh for which approval of the high-level clearance authority of the State Government has been obtained, Das said.
Site selection studies and a preliminary land survey for the proposed project is under way and the company is actively pursuing allocation of a coal block in this regard, he said.
On NALCO’s foray into the energy sector, Das said the company had formed a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to set up nuclear power plants.
Both the partners have selected Kakrapar Units 3 and 4 of 700 MW each in Gujarat as their first joint venture project with an estimated project cost of Rs 11,500 crore, he said, adding construction work had started and the project was scheduled to be commissioned by December 2015.
In pursuit of harnessing renewable energy sources, NALCO has entered into the wind power generation business with the establishment of 50.4 MW wind power plant at Gandikota in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of Rs 274 crore.
A second wind power plant of 47.6 MW is being set up in Rajasthan at an investment of Rs 283 crore. Another plant has been planned in NALCO’s own mined out area at Panchpatmali in Koraput district of Odisha.