Nalco draws-up Rs50,000 crore expansion plans

Mumbai: Public sector National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has taken up a Rs50,000 crore expansion programme, a top company official said.

"We have taken up the third-phase expansion project to increase capacity. The expansion will be completed in 8-9 years involving a capital outlay of Rs 50,000-crore. In FY 11, the company will spend Rs1,500 crore towards capex," Nalco's chairman and managing director, AK Shrivastava, told reporters on the sidelines of the Aluminium India 2010 conference in Mumbai today.

The company plans to increase aluminium capacity from the present 4.6-lakh MT to 5.75-lakh MT, alumina refinery from 21-lakh MT to 29-lakh MT and de-bottlenecking of alumina from 21-lakh MT to 22.7-lakh MT.

"We have no fund-raising plans for the next two-years as we have enough resources. But after that, we would require to raise funds," Shrivastava said, adding that the company has no plans for a follow-on public offer in the near future.

"The company plans to set up a Rs16,000 crore greenfield project at Jhagdusa in Orissa and a Rs5,600 crore alumina refinery at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The company has an expansion plan in India as well as overseas.

Nalco is also setting up a smelter in Indonesia, he said. Commenting on the price outlook for aluminium, Shrivastava said prices were expected to remain stable in FY 11. Prices had gone down substantially last year.

The sharp decline in aluminium prices last year had given us a jolt. Since we are the lowest metal producer in the world, we could survive and not cut down production," he said.

The company has now decided to venture into setting up of power plants in association with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPC).

"We have entered into an MoU with Nuclear Power Corporation to set up a 1,000mw nuclear power project at a cost of Rs9,000-crore. The cost of production per unit should be Rs2.5-Rs 2.8," Shrivastava said.

NPC is a lead partner for uranium and intial funding will be met by both joint venture partners, Shrivastava said, adding that the Atomic Energy Commission will finalise the location of the said plant.