Cyprus may host Indian aluminium plant

A LARGE Indian aluminium producer is in talks with the government about the possibility of setting up a plant in Cyprus, it emerged yesterday. The company plans to invest a total of €800 million in a European Union member state, which would likely involve the creation of 600 jobs. Commenting on the possibility of the arrival in Cyprus of a major Indian investor, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday that “there is interest from various quarters, and of course wherever there is a response and interest, we are more than ready to discuss matters with them.” Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides was less restrained, calling the enquiry a “golden opportunity for Cyprus in the energy sector”. If the investment goes ahead, the new plant would require a power supply of the order of 500MW, which is currently the total amount of electricity consumed by the whole of the south of the island outside of periods of peak demand. Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) Assistant Commercial Manager Costas Gabrielides told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that EAC has been in preliminary consultations with the prospective new customer via the Commerce Ministry, and has indicated its willingness to set up a supply, subject to some basic preconditions being met. “Of course we would want to supply a big new customer, but we need to proceed on a solid basis. To supply something in the region of 500MW, we would need to invest €400 million in new facilities, so we could only proceed on the basis of a long-term contract”, Gabrielides said. Other requirements for a plant would be a 10-hectare plot of land, ideally located near a port for transport purposes. This would put the Vasiliko area, midway between Larnaca and Limassol, high on the list of candidate locations. Paschalides said that “of course, the proposal will be studied; we will look at it from both technical and legal parameters, and accordingly will decide together with EAC if the overall proposal will proceed.” The initial approach had been made through an international office of KPMG, the financial advisors to the company, the identity of which is not known at this stage. According to a report in yesterday’s Phileleftheros, the company is an “Indian colossus” called Vividia, but no large aluminium producer with this name exists in India. It is quite possible that “Vividia” is a codename for one of the five main Indian aluminium producers, with the prospective investor most likely preferring anonymity for commercial reasons.