Central PSU National Aluminium Company (NALCO) plans to set up a new greenfield smelter in Odisha at Kamakhyanagar. The site chosen for the new smelter is close to Gajamara in Dhenkanal district where NALCO is teaming up with power utility NTPC for setting up a 2400 Mw coal-fired power station.
This power project estimated to cost INR 14,000 crore, will be implemented by a joint venture company titled NTPC-NALCO Power Company Ltd.
The proposed smelter’s capacity is pegged at 0.6 MnT per annum. Power generated from the planned super thermal power station will feed this greenfield smelter.
Confirming the development, NALCO’s chairman and managing director T K Chand said, “We need around 1400 acres of land for the new smelter. IDOC (Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) already has 1500 acres of land ready at Kamakhyanagar, so we hope to get possession of this patch of land. Also, the smelter’s location would be around 45 km from Gajamara, the proposed site of the 2400 Mw power plant. That way, it will be easier for us to evacuate power and feed the smelter.”
The smelter’s location is also advantageous as water would be easily available at Gajamara, said he. The new smelter is expected to go on stream in nearly four years. This state-of-the-art smelter will make use of the latest in aluminium smelting technology.
NALCO is also going for brownfield expansion of its existing smelter project at Angul whose nameplate capacity is 0.46 mtpa. The navratna company has a Capex (capital expenditure) of INR 10,000 crore to add 0.5 mtpa capacity to this smelter. Land and associated infrastructure needed for this smelter expansion is in place. With the expansion, Nalco hopes to prune cost of production and achieve economy of scale. The company will also deploy the latest technology to ensure reduced energy consumption and high productivity.
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