Lines up Rs 6,000-crore Phase-III expansion plan
The navratna aluminium firm National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has identified Jharsuguda and Kamakhyanagar as the possible locations for setting up of independent power plants (IPPs).
The company aims to set up IPPs through joint ventures with PSUs of the Orissa government like Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) which have been allocated some coal blocks.
"We are keen on setting up IPPs through joint ventures with state PSUs like OMC and OPGC as we believe that the partnership will be a win-win situation for Nalco as well as the PSUs. The possible locations for the IPPs can be Jharsuguda and Kamakhyanagar. Based on the available coal blocks with OMC and OPGC, five power plants, each with a capacity of 660 MW can be set up”, said B L Bagra, director (finance) of Nalco.”
"The company has targeted at least one IPP with a generation capacity of 1000 MW by 2016”, Nalco chairman and managing director A K Srivastava said in his address to the shareholders at the 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company.
As a part of sustainable development, Nalco is also venturing into harnessing renewable source of energy by setting up a 50 MW wind energy farm, he added. The location for this wind farm was yet to be decided.
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Meanwhile, Nalco has successfully completed two major brownfield expansion plans at an investment of Rs 7800 crore. This has raised the company's bauxite mine capacity to 6.3 million tonnes, alumina capacity to 2.1 million tonnes, aluminium capacity to 0.46 million tonnes and power generation capacity from its Captive Power Plant (CPP) at Angul to 1200 MW.
The company is now ready with its Phase-III expansion plan entailing an investment of Rs 6000 crore. This will further expand Nalco's alumina capacity to 2.9 million tonnes, aluminium capacity to 0.57 million tonnes and power generation from CPP to 1700 MW.
In parallel, Nalco which had lined up an investment of Rs 16000 crore for setting up a 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) smelter plant and a 1260 MW CPP at Brajrajnagar near Jharsuguda is now scouting for alternative locations in Sundergarh and Bolangir districts.
The location will be finalized depending on the availability of land and water.
The company is also gearing up to set up a 1.4 mtpa alumina refinery in Andhra Pradesh and the Government of India has accorded prior approval for awarding a mining lease to the company.
Nalco is also pushing ahead its overseas expansion plan which includes the setting up of a 0.5 mtpa smelter plant and a 1250 MW CPP in Indonesia. The detailed project report of the Indonesian project would be readied soon, said Bagra.
On the proposed aluminium downstream park at Angul, Bagra said, “The joint venture company with Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco) has been incorporated. Notification under Section 4 (1) has been issued for acquisition of private land while transfer of government land to the JV company has been approved. We hope the land acquisition process to be completed within 12 months.”
Nalco is also setting up a 1400 MW (2x700) nuclear power plant through a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. While Nalco would hold 49 per cent stake in the joint venture, the remaining 51 per cent would be owned by NPCIL. The nuclear power plant was likely to come up a Surat (Gujarat).