NALCO commits hot metal supply to proposed Angul Alumniium Park

KOLKATA: National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has reiterated its commitment to supply hot metal to the proposed Angul Aluminium Park despite operating at reduced capacity due to problems in getting coal for its captive power plants. The Angul Aluminium Park is a joint venture between NALCO and Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation. The central government has recently sanctioned the project to set up an aluminium park at Angul with an estimated cost of Rs 125 crore. The project is expected to attract investments worth Rs 500 crore in the initial phase.

Incidentally, the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy, Government of India has agreed to provide a grant-in aid of Rs 43 crore for the development of the physical infrastructure and common utilities in the Angul Aluminium Park. After this nod, IDCO had sought commitment from NALCO to provide raw material support to the downstream units to be located in the park.

In a statement issued on Thursday, NALCO said though it is operating at reduced capacities, due to the difficulties in getting adequate supply of coal for its Captive Power Plant, it has agreed to supply 50,000 tonnes per annum of molten metal initially to Angul Aluminium Park for promoting downstream industries. The company said it may consider enhancing the quantity once the Utkal-E coal block allotted to NALCO gets operational. However, the coal block project has been facing a number of hurdles and the company has requested the state government authorities to intervene and hasten the process.