Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta plans to set up one lakh tonne continuous copper rod plant in Saudi Arabia through its subsidiary Malco Energy, which has floated a new company Vedanta Copper International VCI Company Limited.
The plant, which is proposed to be set up in Dammam, will cater to rising customer requirements for high-quality wire rod. This new venture aims to meet the evolving market demands and is in alignment with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision of diversification and promoting domestic manufacturing and industrial development.
Vedanta’s Copper Business spans across India, with units at Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) and Silvassa (West India) and the UAE with operations in Fujairah. With KCM - Zambia, Vedanta has become a fully integrated producer of copper and is now expanding its footprint into Saudi Arabia. The company’s plant in Tuticorin had suspended operations since 2018 due to environment issues.
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Government policy
Puneet Khurana, Deputy CEO, Vedanta (Copper Sector) said the government has embarked on its policy of inviting industries to participate in its development activities and be part of its vision 2030. Metal and mining industry is set to play a major role in contributing to KSA’s economic growth story, he said.
With anticipated completion of the copper rod mill project by Q4 FY’24, Vedanta will be exploring more opportunities in the copper value chain in Saudi Arabia. The mining conglomerate is expected to play a pivotal role in boosting domestic manufacturing to cater the growing demand in the region, further solidifying India-Saudi relations.
On the domestic front, he added the Indian Copper Industry is expected to grow tremendously in this decade and Vedanta aims to contribute to around 45 per cent of the domestic market share by 2030.