Nalco, India’s government-owned aluminum maker, plans to invest Rs300bn ($4.09bn) over the next 7-8 years to expand its capacity to meet the potential demand for the metal.
Making the announcement during the company’s 41st Foundation Day on Jan 7, Prahlad Joshi, India’s Parliamentary Affairs and Coals and Mines minister said that the potential increase in consumption of aluminum across the country provided Nalco with the opportunity to increase its production.
The announcement comes within days of India’s petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan urging Joshi to speed up the expansion projects related to Nalco.
The projects for which this investment will be used include, expanding Nalco’s refining capacity by 1mn mt, adding 3.5mn mt in capacity at its Pottangi bauxite mine, and improving its smelting capacity by 0.5mn mt. Part of the investment will also be used to enhance the company’s captive power plant capacity by 1200 MW and making the Utkal D&E Coal blocks operational, according to Joshi.
The government’s recently announced infrastructure projects under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative as well as the growing demand for aluminum in packaging, automobiles, and manufacturing would increase the demand for the metal, Joshi indicated.
($1 = Rs73.33)