Nalco's non-core businesses to become separate entities

KOLKATA: Public sector aluminium major, Nalco , will hive off its non-aluminium business — power and other mineral mining into separate entities after they have reached a critical size, its chairman, BL Bagra said in Kolkata on Friday. The company is looking at earning 25% of its total turnover to come from non-aluminum businesses in the next five years and it will be investing Rs 2,000 crore in the next two years for aluminum as well as non core businesses. “Nalco will invest Rs 1700 crore as equity for the nuclear power joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India. It will be a 49:51 joint venture where Nalco will be taking a 49% stake.

We plan to set up 1400 mw of nuclear power plant at Kakrapar in Gujarat at a total investment of . 13,000 crore,” Bagra said. “We are also planning to bid for the 4000 mw ultra mega power project in Orissa’s Bedabahal area. The project had run into some environmentrelated issues which are in the process of getting cleared,” said Bagra. To this effect, the company is in the process of appointing consultants who would help the company submit a financially viable and winning bid for the UMPP projects in Orissa. Once Nalco’s power generation capacity excluding its captive plant crosses 2000 mw, it will be hived off to a separate venture. “Similarly, we will also hive off the coal venture in Indonesia and uranium mining ventures into new companies,” he said. In Indonesia the company proposes to set up 0.5 million tonnes aluminium smelter and a 1250 mw coal based thermal captive power plant in East Kalimantan, Indonesia at an estimated investment of $ 4 billion.