Team News Riveting
Raipur, February 15
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco), an arm of London-listed Vedanta Resources, would almost double the production capacity at its Korba facility to join the one-million-tonne club.
Bucking the COVID-19 induced economic slowdown, the aluminium major plans to enhance its capacity from 5.70 lakh tonne per annum (LTPA) to about 10.85 LTPA. On completion, Chhattisgarh’s only aluminium industry with 22 per cent market share in the country, would join the one-million-club.
The Chhattisgarh Environment and Conservation Board (CECB) had organised a public hearing on Wednesday to grant environment clearance (EC) for the expansion project. The proceedings would be held in the Balco ground.
The proposal for the expansion and modernisation of the Balco facility located in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district was designed in 2013. It was however put on hold following the global economic slowdown.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, who visited Balco in April 2016 for the first time after taking over 51 per cent stake in the company in 2001, asked the officials to revive the plan and expedite the expansion programme with immediate effect.
The Government of India holds the remaining 49 per cent stake in the company that was incorporated in the year 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU).
The previous expansion was undertaken based on the EC granted in September, 2008 for the expansion of aluminium smelter plant from 3.5 LTPA to 9 LTPA. Under the said EC smelter plant of 3.25 LTPA was constructed and 1 LTPA Soderberg smelter was dismantled. However, the remaining capacity of 3.25 LTPA was not constructed due to the prevailing economic scenario at that point of time.
The EC expired in September, 2015. Now Balco is expanding its existing aluminium production capacity by 5.1 LTPA in the area earmarked for balance 3.25 LTPA smelter capacity by incorporating advanced state of the art environment friendly technology
In the two decades after disinvestment, BALCO contributed a large amount of revenue to the Chhattisgarh Government. It would further boost with the expansion besides generating a good number of employment for the local people. The company had created economic opportunities worth thousands of crores of rupees in the state. Its current power generation capacity is 2010 MW.
The only company in the world to reinvest its entire profits on expansion and social upliftment projects, Vedanta Resources seeks to ramp up its aluminium value-added products profile, subsequently, its entity Balco is gearing up to ensure that world-class products using state-of-the-art technology and indigenous resources and skills to make India self-reliant.
