Bhubaneswar: Mining conglomerate Vedanta Tuesday said the company’s Rs 1 lakh crore aluminium refinery and smelter project will be set up in Raygada district of Odisha.
The first phase of the project is expected to be commissioned in the next three years, which will be expanded later, company Chairman Anil Agarwal said.
Vedanta in October last year announced that it will make Rs 1 lakh crore investment in Odisha to build a 6 MTPA alumina refinery and a 3 MTPA green aluminium plant. However, the place where it will be set up was not revealed then.
Speaking on the sidelines of the state’s business conclave, Utkarsh Odisha-Make in Odisha, Agarwal said, “We will establish the aluminium refinery of 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity and aluminium smelter of 30 lakh tonne capacity in Rayagada district. The total investment will be around Rs 1 lakh crore.”
He said the mining conglomerate has got Sijimali bauxite mine in Rayagada district, which is now being developed for exploration.
During his meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi here in October, the Vedanta chairman had promised to set up an alumina refinery and an aluminium plant in the state with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Vedanta group has already made significant investments in Odisha, amounting to more than Rs 1 lakh crore, Agarwal said.
The company is now operating a 1.8 MTPA smelter in Jharsuguda and a 3.5 MTPA alumina refinery in Lanjigarh. It has also established mines in Jajpur and Dhenkanal districts in Odisha for the mining of chrome ore.
Besides, ESL Steel Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, also operates two iron ore mines located in Sundargarh district.
Asked about Vedanta’s proposed university in Odisha which is now in limbo following the Supreme Court’s order to cancel the land allotted for the project, he said, “Our students are moving to foreign countries like America and England for higher study and Indian teachers are teaching in those universities. I want to set up a university in Odisha with an investment of Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 crore.”
The Supreme Court April 12, 2023 upheld the Orissa High Court’s 2010 decision of quashing the proceedings initiated by the state government to acquire about 6,000 acres of land to establish a university.
Coming down heavily on the state government, the top court had said “undue favour” was given to Vedanta.
There is no scarcity of land in the state and its people are very lovable, he said, adding, “With the blessings of God, the university will definitely be established.”
“During last 30 years in Odisha, I saw that whenever some development work is being undertaken whether it is Niyamgiri mines or industry in Kalinganagar, some foreign forces have opposed those,” the industrialist claimed, without elaborating.
PTI
