Tata Electric Companies (TEC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Alumi-nium (Indal) for expansion of Indal's 67.5 mw thermal power plant at Hirakud in Orissa.
The MoU was signed by Homi N Sethna, chairman, TEC, and Tapan Mitra, Indal's vice chairman and managing director at Indal's corporate office in Calcutta, stated a company press release.
"This MoU is a significant step towards consolidating Indal's metal position and we are very happy to work with TEC on this project, led by Sethna," said Mitra. This will facilitate speedy expansion at Hirakud, pointed out Mitra.
Indal circles are greatly honoured having developed an association with Sethna, who is a person of international eminence and a man of rare learning and vision.
According to the MoU, TEC and Indal will work together to set up facilities to provide additional power for expansion of Indal's 30,000 tpa aluminium smelter at Hirakud to a proposed 60,000 tpa.
The power plant expansion at Hirakud will also be complemented by access to coal from a nearby coal block that has already been allotted to Indal. The detailed feasibility report for the smelter expansion is currently being undertaken by EIL and Kaiser Aluminium of USA and is expected to be ready by May 1998.
In the wake of the Sterlite's open offer for a 20 per cent stake in Indal, the MoU is significant as every development is being closely watched by its shareholders. This is more so because this involves power, which has always been a weak area for the company.
To achieve self-sufficiency in metal, the board had decided to install a naphtha-based captive power plant for the Belgaum smelter with a capacity of 100 MW on build-own-operate-transfer basis. Besides, projects are also underway to increase alumina production at Belgaum and Moori.
