With the aim to promote investment in the downstream aluminium sector, Odisha is setting aluminium parks in bauxite-rich areas under a public-private participation (PPP) model with equity support from public and private sector metal and mining giants like Nalco, Vendanta and Hindalco Industries.

The first such project is taking shape in Angul with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The project will be set up as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Nalco and the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) as equal partners. Two more such pr­ojects are proposed – one pr­omoted by Vedanta at Jharsuguda and another by Hindalco close to its aluminium operations in the state.

As part of the initiative to promote manufacturing of value-added products, the Odisha industries department organised an event here on Monday in association with CII to engage with over 70 Indian companies and invited them to invest in the state’s downstream ecosystem.

“Odisha is witnessing ra­pid industrial transformat­ion as per the roadmap laid out in our ‘vision 2025’ docu­ment. We are a mineral-rich state and by developing world-class infrastructure, we aim to provide an ideal business ecosystem for all t­he related sectors to flourish.

“We have already received several investment proposals for the aluminium park at Angul and we aim to create around 15000 jobs through the project,” Odisha principal secretary (industries) Sanjeev Chopra told Financial Chronicle.

Through the initiative the government is also looking to get rid of the negative image generated following withdrawal of Korean steel giant POSCO from the state. Along with the investor-friendly industrial policy 2015, the state has also developed a 100,000 acre land bank to promote industrialisation and make the state manufacturing hub.

With the demand of aluminium expected to rise, Odisha, the largest producer (54 per cent) of aluminium in the country, is looking at promoting value-addition within the state through aluminium parks. The Angul aluminium park, spread over 223 acres of industrial land, will facilitate downstream industries with disruption-free availability of raw materials.

Various domestic companies like KEI Industries, Jindal Steel, H­a­vells India, Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Sterlite Technologies attended the roundtable. Addressing the investors from various states, TK Chand, CII chairman (Odisha) and Nalco chairman & managing director, said, “There is a huge opportunity for downstream products and a ready market for them. Industry will be getting developed land, power and training facilities. Most requirements will be taken care of in the form of package.” The downstream industry will have cost benefit of Rs 10,000 per tonne as there will be no inventory costs and material will be fully assured to downstream firms, Chand said, adding Nalco will provide hand-holding to all the downstream and ancillary units.

Investments in the aluminium downstream sector have been gaining momentum in Odisha. In the past 5 years, the state has attracted Rs 893 crore investments, including proposals by Bahrain-based Midal Cables and Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) subsidiary Grid Conductors. Four out of the five proposals drawn are for the aluminium park, developed jointly by Nalco and IDCO, at Angul.

In his welcome address, SK Mohanty, CEO, Angul Aluminium Park, said Odisha accounts for 50 per cent of the aluminium production in the country. The aluminium refining capacity has gone up to 5.775 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from 0.80 MTPA and smelting capacity to 2.634 MTPA from 0.509 MTPA. Availability of abundant raw material from Nalco and Vedanta will be crucial for the downstream aluminium and ancillary industry, he said.

On the occasion, Abhijit Pati, CEO (aluminium), Vedanta, said, “With 25 per cent of coal and 60 per cent of bauxite in the state, there cannot be another state that can be aluminium capital. We have to create success story of consumption and demand of aluminium in the state.”

In this direction, the downstream industry will also help generate huge employment potential. The R&D impetus will further boost the sector, he added.

Last month, the Odisha government in collaboration with Tata Steel and Jindal Stainless, hosted a similar meet for the steel and stainless steel downstream industries at Kalinganagar. A stainless steel park has also been proposed by JSL in Kalinganagar, while the state is also looking at developing an industrial zone close to its coast.