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NALCO to commission phase-I expansion by month-end

M I Khan in Bhubaneswar

National Aluminium Company Limited, or NALCO, which is the country's largest aluminium producer and alumina exporter in the public sector, is all set to commission the first phase of its mega expansion programme by this month end.

The other two phases of its expansion project too are on schedule and are likely to be completed by 2001 and 2002, respectively.

NALCO's Rs 37-billion mega expansion projects are targeted at increasing mines and alumina refinery capacity.

NALCO is likely to commission the first phase of the expansion of its alumina refinery, located at Damonjodi in the Koraput district of Orissa. The phase-I, which will be completed this month, will take the alumina production capacity of NALCO from 8,00,000 tonnes per annum, or tpa, to 10,50,000 tpa. In the first phase of expansion itself, NALCO has doubled its bauxite excavation and transportation capacity from 24,00,000 tpa to 48,00,000 tpa to meet the ultimate requirement of bauxite ore for the expanded refinery.

S K Banerjee, NALCO director, said that the fact that the huge planned expansions are on time proves the company's 'cash-richness' and its determination to emerge as a world player in this sector.

"All the expansion projects are running on schedule. NALCO aims to complete the final targeted expansion level of 15,75,000 tpa by March 2001 and expansion of the smelter and captive power plants by May 2002," he said.

"NALCO is going ahead with its expansion projects without any financial support from the government. All this has been done through internal resources," he said.

The expansion programme envisaged an expenditure of Rs 16.65 billion. However, through careful selection of the technologies, optimum use of available infrastructure and competitive biddings, NALCO is likely to achieve a saving of about Rs 3 billion on the projected cost.

By international standards, the brownfield expansion of NALCO's alumina refinery is being achieved at minimal cost. The lowered cost of expansion and substantial internal funding of the capital will result in lower production cost, which has been the hallmark of NALCO.

Banerjee said that in the metal segment, NALCO is on a fast track, implementing an expansion project which will enhance the smelting capacity from the current level of 2,30,000 tpa to 3,45,000 tpa and captive power generation from 720 mw to 840 mw. This project is being implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 20.62 billion.

"With the expansion completed, NALCO's share in the country's primary aluminium production capacity will go up from 32.21 per cent to 42 per cent," Banerjee said.

NALCO reported a record sales turnover of Rs 21.42 billion, 42 per cent over the previous year's figure of Rs 15.07 billion.

According to the unaudited financial results for the year 1999-2000 the net profit at Rs 5.12 billion compared to Rs 2.48 billion achieved in 1998-99 represent an increase of 106.28 per cent.

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