Indian aluminium giant National Aluminium Company (Nalco) said it plans to invest about Rs400bn ($7.2bn) to make a foray into energy sector.
The company has formed a joint venture Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to establish nuclear power plants in the country.
Nalco chairman and managing director B L Bagra told the local reporter: "The company has taken up several greenfield projects. As part of this drive, plans are afoot to set up a new smelter in Western Odisha with an investment of about Rs16,000 crore."
The partners have chosen the 700MW Kakrapar Units 3 and 4 in Gujarat state as their first JV project with an estimated project cost of Rs115bn ($2bn).
Construction work on these units has already started and is scheduled to be commissioned by December 2015, reports the Business Standard.
Nalco is also setting up a Rs2.74bn ($49.26m) Wind Power Project in Andhra Pradesh, India with a capacity of 50.4MW. This project is in the final stage of commissioning and plans are afoot for a second wind power project of equal capacity.
A third plant has been planned in the company’s own worked out mined area at Panchpatmali in Koraput district of Odisha and a 15MW solar power plant is on the cards.
The company has also shown keen interest in the proposed 4,000MW Ultra Megal Power Plant at Bedabahal in Odisha.
