Nalco’s push for Iran plant gathers fresh momentum

New Delhi: State-run aluminium giant Nalco’s quest for setting up a greenfield smelter and a power plant worth Rs 8,000 crore in Iran has gathered fresh momentum as a team of the PSU’s top brass recently held extensive negotiations with its JV partner Iranian company Aluminium Pars Hanza Company (ALPHA) for the same. The company is anxiously waiting for the due diligence report by its consultant DasturCo to ascertain the dry details of the ambitious project. “We are keen to expand overseas. In Iran we see a lot of potential. We have planned to set up a 2.5 lakh tonne smelter in Kerman province of Iran. We plan to take up the capacity to 5 lakh tonne per annum later. Our consultant (DasturCo) is expected to finalise its report soon. Thereafter, we will have a clear picture on the entire project,” National Aluminium Company (NALCO) CMD C R Pradhan told The Indian Express. Alumina for the project will be ferried from the navratna company’s plant through Vishakhapatnam port to Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. For the first phase, requirement of Alumina would be 3 lakh tonnes and for full capacity of Smelter, it would be 6 lakh tonnes per year. In fact a delegation comprising officials from the PSU and representatives from its consultant DasturCo had visited Iran in September and held wide-ranging discussions with officials from ALPHA, Kerman Regional Electricity Authority as well as the Indian Embassy in Tehran. The Mines Ministry is understood to have instructed that following receipt of the report; Nalco’s Director (Finance) should pay a visit to Tehran soon and hold discussions with the Indian Ambassador and others before it takes a final view on the matter. The company has already signed a MoU with ALPHA in March this year. Parrying a question on whether the project has been delayed, Pradhan pointed out his company would take the final call only after carefully perusing the dry details of the report. Source: indianexpress.com