Diversified metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd has sought the approval of the Odisha government to expand capacity of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh. Vedanta would invest Rs 6,483 crore to ramp up the refinery’s nameplate capacity to six million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from one mtpa now.
To cater to its proposed expansion, Vedanta would require 1645.8 acres of private land.
Vedanta’s proposal for expansion of the refinery was taken up by the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority here. The matter has now been referred to the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA). The HLCA chaired by chief minister, is the highest body to approve investments in Odisha.
The project after full ramp up has the potential to generate jobs for 9494 people.
Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in south Odisha’s Kalahandi district, has been struggling to keep its operations afloat due to unavailability of local bauxite sources. After losing the bid to mine the bauxite laden but ecologically fragile Niyamgiri hills in 2013, Vedanta has been pleading to the Odisha government to arrange bauxite from local sources. But, an arrangement to offer bauxite to Vedanta by the state government has hitherto come unstuck. Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery located at the foothills of the Niyamgiri range, is sourcing bauxite from states like Chhattisgarh and also importing from New Guinea and Australia through long-term contracts, to feed the project. The plant commenced refinery operations in 2005 and since then, it is running without local bauxite supplies and piling up losses.
In a related development, Runaya, a metals start-up founded by the sons of Vedanta Ltd’s executive vice chairman Navin Agarwal, got the clearance from the SLSWCA to set up an aluminium dross refining unit at Jharsuguda with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum. The project to cost Rs 64.43 crore, would generate employment for 175 people. Vedanta has an aluminium smelting unit at Jharsuguda with an annual production capacity of 0.5 mtpa. Apart from this standalone unit, the company has developed another aluminium smelter of 1.25 mtpa capacity in an SEZ (Special Economic Zone) designated area in the vicinity of the Jharsuguda smelter.
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