VedantaNSE 1.00 % Resources Plc said it has secured approvals to expand its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha to 6 million tonnes per annum and has tied up contracts with Emirates Global Aluminium for bauxite.
The Anil Agarwal-led natural resources major is also looking to take over up to 6 GW of stressed thermal power plants for captive use, its CEO (alumina and power) Ajay Dixit told ET. He said the refinery would be expanded by 2021. Its current capacity is 2 mt.
Industry insiders said the expansion may entail an investment of Rs 5,600 crore. Odisha principal secretary industries Sanjeev Chopra said the state gave single window clearance for expansion last year and the company was supposed to obtain other approvals.
Dixit said required approvals have been obtained. He also alleged that local protests that thwarted the company’s plans of bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha were backed by its rivals in the UK, Brazil and Australia, and said Vedanta continues to focus on domestic mines within Odisha.
“While our requirement for bauxite now is 6 mtpa and will be 18 mtpa post expansion, Niyamgiri output is estimated at only 2-2.5 mtpa. We can very well do without Niyamgiri,” he said, adding that Vedanta presently imports half of its bauxite requirement.
Alleging that local protest at Niyamgiri were motivated, Dixit said, “Tribal people are very innocent and they follow the leader who they trust. “There is no common platform where we can sit on a table and discuss. This leaves a gap for motivated or political objectives.”
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