HLCA to consider Nalco expansion

BHUBANESWAR: Navratna PSU Nalco's plan to expand the capacity of its refinery at Damanjodi (Koraput district) will soon be considered by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
The PSU aims to scale up capacity of its alumina refinery from 2.275 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 3.275 mtpa with an investment of Rs 4,357.3 crore.
"The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) has referred Nalco's expansion proposal to the HLCA for approval," said Kalyan Mohanty, general manager, Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol).
The Pottangi mines with 70 million tonne bauxite reserve would feed the company's new refinery of one mtpa capacity, official sources said. The SLSWCA, headed by chief secretary G C Pati, on Friday cleared four other projects, including a foreign direct investment (FDI). The panel cleared a proposal of Thailand-based Indorama Ventures for a pet preforms unit at Khurda. The plant with employment potential of 145 would be set up with an investment of Rs 95 crore.
Another proposal of Aditya Birla Group-owned Pantaloon Retails Limited to establish a garment manufacturing unit at an investment of Rs 53.1 crore was also cleared. The facility would have the capacity to produce 2.8 million pieces per annum. It would create direct employment for 1,420 persons. These apart, it cleared 1.2 mtpa capacity cement grinding unit by JSW Cement at an investment of Rs 318 crore. The unit would come up within the existing campus of Jindal Stainless Limited at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district.
"Also the proposal of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited to set up an LPG bottling plant at Rayagada on 30 acres at a cost of Rs 92 crore received government nod," Mohanty added. The SLSWCA also gave its nod for expansion of Parle Agro's unit at Khurda, the sources said. The project approvals were fast-tracked by the state level facilitation cell at Ipicol.