Nalco to attain full production level by October

CUTTACK: With coal supply well on the path of recovery, National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) on Thursday announced that it was all set to achieve full production levels by the end of October. The aluminium major has started rebuilding on production stock as supplies have resumed from Bharatpur mines of the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. “We expect to restart all 60 pots that were closed on account of the coal supply crisis in October, Chairman and Managing Director BL Bagra told mediapersons here on Thursday. The PSU had earlier this month placed an import order for 2 lakh tonne of coal as supply dipped to 7,400 tonne a day against a requirement of 12,000 tonne causing a loss of at least ` 1 crore a day. It was also forced to source about 300 MW of power from the State Grid to operate the smelter. “With resumption of coal supply, the power drawal from State Grid has come down to 50 MW at present and will come down to nil soon,” Bagra said. The PSU on Thursday held its annual general meeting and approved a total dividend payout of ` 257.72 crore, up by 60 per cent from the Rs. 161.08 crore last year.The company has laid out a Vision plan envisaging achievement of turnover of Rs. 25,000 crore by 2020. It plans an investment of Rs.  40,000 crore  for the same. Bagra said while the second phase expansion of its capacities have been commissioned and under stabilisation, the fourth stream of alumina refinery is being upgraded from 0.525 million tonne to 0.70 million tonne. The capacity of its bauxite mines is being raised from 6.3 million tonne to 6.825 million tonne at an estimated cost of  Rs. 409 crore and scheduled to be commissioned by June 2012. The upgradation of smelter potlines from 180 kilo ampere (KA) to 220 KA at an investment of  Rs. 1,500 crore is under implementation. On completion of both the projects by 2017, the capacity of the smelter would go up by a lakh tonne per annum.  Bagra also revealed that the 50.4 MW wind power project at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh with an investment of  Rs. 274 crore would be completed before March 2012. The company, while looking at establishment of another wind power plant, is also exploring locations for a solar power plant, he added.