The board of Vedanta Resources, on 16 December
2005, approved an investment of $2.1 billion in setting up a 5 lakh tpa
greenfield aluminium smelter in Orissa. Coming up in Jharsuguda district, the
smelter will be accompanied by a 1,215 MW captive thermal power plant.
Project details: The project, to be
implemented by Vedanta Alumina Ltd, will comprise two pot lines each containing
288 cells. It will be implemented in two phases of 250,000 tpa each and is
expected to commence construction in June 2006. Construction of the first phase
is expected to complete in the second half of 2009 and the second phase is
expected to complete by the end of 2010. The associated thermal power plant will
totally comprise nine units of 135 MW each, of which five units of 135 MW each
will be commissioned as a part of the first phase. The commissioning of the
power plant units is being scheduled to meet the power requirement of the new
Jharsuguda smelter and is based on the modular 135 MW configuration
deployed successfully at Korba.
Upon completion, this will increase Vedanta’s
total aluminium smelting capacity to around 9 lakh tpa, placing it among the
largest integrated producers of aluminium worldwide. The Jharsuguda project will
repeat the project framework and technology of the Korba smelter that was
successfully commissioned recently.
The experienced in-house project management team
that implemented the Korba smelter project on schedule will manage this project.
Vedanta’s greenfield 1.4 million tpa alumina refinery in Orissa is scheduled to
be commissioned in early 2007. This refinery would feed the alumina required for
the new Jharsuguda aluminium smelter.
This investment includes the cost of building the
smelter, the associated power facilities and all necessary infrastructure
including railway networks, water pipelines and a township for employees. The
investment will be funded through a combination of internal resources and
external financing.
(ProjectsToday adds: The
project was first announced in February 2005 and tenders for pre-project work
were floated in September 2005. The current development symbolizes a formal
approval; it also suggests a minor variation in project scope and cost from what
was announced earlier.)
Also See:
Vedanta progresses
with Orissa aluminium smelter (20-Sep-05)
Vedanta Resources:
Current status of key projects (18-Nov-05)