State-run National Aluminium Company (Nalco) will invest around Rs 30,000 crore to set up a new aluminium smelter and an associated coal-based power plant over the next five years, its chairman and managing director Brijendra Pratap Singh said on Thursday.
Of the total investment, the company has allocated about Rs 17-18,000 crore for establishing the proposed smelter in Odisha, and another Rs 12,000 crore for the coal-based power plant. The project would be financed through a combination of debt and accruals, the CMD noted.
Strategic focus on growth
The company has also charted out a plan of becoming a Maharatna company by increasing its revenues and turnover by 2030.
“Our present turnover is around Rs 17,000 crores. To become a Maharatna company, we will require Rs 25,000 crore. In one year we will be having a refinery, which will increase our turnover by Rs 2,000-2,500 crore and by adding a smelter, we will get an additional revenue of Rs 10,000-11000 crore,” Singh said, adding that the company plans to establish the smelter by 2030.
Speaking on the impact of 50% tariffs imposed by the US, the CMD said that there is no impact as such as the company does not export to the US but to West Asia.
However, it sees the UK as the next emerging market for its exports.
Bolstering raw material security
“The UK is an area where tariffs will go down. In the UK, there is a lot of thrust to the EV sector, green energy, etc., and there is a lot of aluminum requirement in the UK. It does not have any smelter capacity, so we will be trying to acquire some of the market in the UK as far as export is concerned,” Singh said.
Along with this, the company will also be exploring opportunities in the critical minerals segment in the future. The company is undertaking expansion of the fifth stream of the alumina refinery at Damanjodi and is targeting operationalisation of Pottangi Bauxite mines, ensuring raw material security for long-term growth.
With India’s aluminium consumption projected to reach 7.5–8 million tonnes annually by 2030, Nalco is strategically positioned to play a pivotal role in meeting this growing demand and reinforcing its leadership in the global aluminium sector, the company said.