Adani Enterprise subsidiary raises Rs 6,000 crore loan to set up greenfield copper plant

Kutch Copper Limited (KCL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, on Sunday said that it has secured a debt of Rs 6,071 crore to set up a copper refinery at Mundra, Gujarat.

The funds will go towards setting up a copper refining capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as part of the phase 1 of the greenfield plant. The total planned capacity is 1 MTPA in two phases.

The loan has been extended by a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI). Other banks part of the consortium includes Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, EXIM Bank of India, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Maharashtra, as per a press statement from Adani Enterprises.


“Aligned with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India), KCL aims to create the capacity for production of refined copper, which plays a vital role in strengthening the nations shift towards EV (electric vehicles) and renewables,” Vinay Prakash, director at Adani Enterprises, said in the statement.

Construction at the site was progressing well and the plant was scheduled to start production by the first half of 2024, Prakash said.

“It will be one of the largest copper refinery complexes in the world, with benchmark ESG performance standards, leveraging state-of-the-art technology and digitalisation,” he said.

KCL was incorporated in March 2021 as a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, which incubates new businesses in the Adani Group.

With this investment, the Adani Group will become the third significant private sector player in the copper market in India. The other two are Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco and Vedanta Group’s Sterlite Copper. Hindustan Copper Limited, a public-sector company, is another significant player.

Last week, Vedanta put Sterlite Copper up for sale. The 0.4 MTPA copper smelter has been shut for a little over four years following violent protests from locals over the alleged pollution caused by it. Vedanta claimed that the plant catered to 40% of India’s copper demand.

The demand for copper is projected to increase in the country with the shift towards renewable energy and the adoption of EVs. Since the closure of Sterlite Copper, India has turned a net importer of the metal. The country was a net exporter of copper for almost two decades prior to this, as per media reports.