Nalco expansion project faces 9-months delay

Aluminium producer Nalco's Rs 4,402-crore expansion project will be delayed by about 9 months because of the naxal attack at its Orissa site early this year that brought construction work to a standstill. "Construction work at alumina refinery came to a stand still after the Naxal attack in April at Damanjodi. Now contractors has resumed work. Commissioning of the alumina refinery will be delayed by about 9 months," Nalco Director Finance B L Bagra told PTI. As part of its Rs 4,402-crore second-phase expansion project, National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is in the process of augmenting the annual production capacity of its alumina refinery from 1.57 million tonnes to 2.1 million tonnes. It had planned to start commercial production of the expanded refinery from June 2010, but now it would be done in March 2011. However, the work is on full swing for expanding the annual production capacity of bauxite mines, aluminium smelter, and captive power plants, he said. Nalco, in the second phase of the expansion programme, plans to take the annual production of its bauxite mines to 63 lakh tonnes from the present 48 lakh tonnes, output of its aluminium smelter to 4.60 lakh tonnes from present 3.45 lakh tonnes, by next year. It has a present installed capacity of 960 MW, which will be expanded to 1200 MW in the next fiscal.