Hindalco signs up for Rs 7800 cr Jharkhand unit

Hindalco Industries Ltd, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jharkhand government on Wednesday for setting up an alminium smelter project of capacity of 3,25,000 tonne per year with a 600 mw captive thermal power plant at Tumbagarha in Latehar district of Jharkhand.

D Bhattacharya, managing director of Hindalco, signed the agreement with the Jharkhand government just 24 hours before the Jharkhand Industrial Policy of 2001 was due to lapse.

The total investment in the project would be about Rs 7,800 crore. The project would be completed in 30 months from zero date, he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said at the signing ceremony that the proposed project was one of the largest of the group. The project would engage 5,000 workers directly.

He said Hindalco's production cost in India was among the lowest in the world. Kumar Birla sought the cooperation from the state government to ensure that the project was completed on time.

The project would come up on 1,000 hectares. The unit would consume 5.6 million tonnes of coal annually and 1.85 million tonnes of bauxite and 3,600 cubic metres per hour of water. The group has an existing unit at Muri.

The chief secretary of Jharkhand, P P Sharma, said a dam would have to be constructed at the project site and this could lead to displacement of a small number of people. He urged Birla to help in the rehabilitation of the displaced people.

Sharma said a high-powered team of state government officials would be formed to monitor the project and assist the Birla group so that it was completed on time.

This is the first major investment proposal signed by Arjun Munda ministry after being inducted for the second time as chief minister of Jharkhand on March 12.