Hindalco to revive capex, spend Rs 730 crore on new plant

NEW DELHI: Kumar Mangalam Birla-led aluminum major Hindalco Industries plans to invest Rs 730 crore on a 34,000-tonne extrusion plant at Silvassa, located in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. With the economy showing signs of revival, the Aditya Birla Group has been one of the few corporate houses to revive investment plans.

Aside from the proposed Rs 730 crore unit, the Group’s flagship UltraTech Cement had last week announced an investment of Rs 5,477 crore to expand its capacity by 12.8 million tonnes per annum in the East, Central and North regions by end of FY23.

“We are seeing a revival in the economy, with demand picking up in the building and construction and automotive sectors. This has given us the confidence to move forward,” said managing director Satish Pai. That’s a turnabout from June, when Hindalco said it would be slowing down its expansion plans due to the impact of Covid-led lockdowns. 

Commercial production is expected to kick off in two years in the new plant, Pai added. The facility will cater to the fast-growing market for extruded aluminium products in the western and southern regions, Hindalco said.

This project is part of Hindalco’s long-term downstream strategy to build a larger value-added product portfolio. The company aims to double its capacity from three lakh tonnes to over six lakh tonnes entailing investments worth Rs 7,000 crore over the next few years. Pai noted that the focus on downstream assets is part of Hindalco’s efforts to further de-risk its business from LME (London Metal Exchange) volatility.

The new, fully automated plant includes three extrusion presses and will enable Hindalco to service premium customers across construction, transport, electricals, consumer, and industrial goods.