BHUBANESWAR, MAR 27 : Cntral sector National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) is planning to set up a greenfield aluminium smelter plant in Orissa as it failed to find out a suitable environment for such a venture in a Gulf country. The plant may come up in the Ib Valley coal belt of Jharsuguda district in Orissa.
"We are looking for a site which will be closer to coal deposits," a senior official of Nalco told FE.
Nalco chairman CR Pradhan and state chief secretary Ajit Tripathy reportedly had an aerial survey of the area last week to select a site. The survey also covered Gadhamardan buxite mines.
Nalco was exploring the possibility of setting up a smelter plant of 2,50,000 to 3,00,000 tonne in a Gulf country by 2009-10 because of the availability of cheap power there. It was in talks with Qatar, Oman and Abu Dhabi.
Nalco, which now produces about 1.57 million tonne of alumina, is one of the major alumina exporters of the world. After completion of the second phase expansion, alumina production capacity will go up to 2.10 mt per annum and aluminium smelter production capacity to 4.60 lakh tonne from 3.45 lakh tonne at present.
Nalco will set up a greenfield alumina refinery as part of the backward integration at a later stage, said the official. According to him, the company is keen to get mining lease of Gandhamardhan bauxite deposit along with the Pottangi deposit, and discussion with the state government is on in this regard.
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