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Nalco sees most expansions by May

State-run National Aluminium Company will complete most of its Rs 45 billion expansion projects by May next year, its chairman said on Wednesday.

India's second largest aluminium maker started work on projects to raise output of its alumina refinery and bauxite mines in 1996, and of aluminium smelter and power plant in 1998.

"We have completed some projects. Others are progressing as per the schedule," chairman P Parvathisem said in a telephone interview from Bhubaneswar.

The firm is enhancing production capacity of its aluminium smelter at Angul in Orissa to 345,000 tonnes per annum from 230,000 tonnes.

"It will take another eight to nine months to raise the aluminium production capacity to the targeted level," he said.

Nalco produced 230,516 tonnes of aluminium in 2000-01 compared with 212,633 tonnes a year earlier.

It also planned to hike power generation capacity to 960 MW from 720 MW with an investment of about Rs 5 billion.

"The capacity will go up to 840 MW by May 2002," he said, but did not give any time frame for the rest of the project.

Nalco shares were down 0.36 per cent at Rs 55.50 in afternoon trade, while the Sensex was flat.

Alumina expansion

The company has already increased capacity of its alumina refinery, located in the mineral-rich town of Damanjodi in Orissa, to 1.58 million tonnes per annum from 800,000 tonnes.

Alumina is derived from bauxite ore and processed into aluminium metal.

"We have started trial production," Parvathisem said.

Commercial production would begin by end-September, he said, adding the plant would take another three to four months to stabilise output.

Nalco has targeted to produce 1.14 million tonnes of alumina in 2001-02. The output rose to 939,000 tonnes in 2000-01 from 886,000 tonnes in the previous year.

The alumina refinery, set up in September 1986, sources bauxite from Panchpatmali mines in Damanjodi. It has already doubled bauxite mining capacity to 4.8 million tonnes a year.

The firm exports nearly half of its alumina production.

"We have planned to export 650,000-700,000 tonnes of alumina this year," Parvathisem said.

It exported 495,723 tonnes of alumina in 2000/01 compared with 479,620 tonnes in the previous year.

The government, which holds 87.15 per cent equity in the firm, plans to offload some shares in the current year.

The privatisation proposal includes the offer of sale up to 30 per cent equity to retail as well as institutional investors and a global depositary receipt issue of 15 per cent, a government report has said.

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