India’s central government vouches support for the Aluminium Park at Angul, Odisha. The aluminium cluster was expected to be launched in July but according to sources in Nalco, the project will miss the deadline. India’s Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is elected from the state of Odisha, addressed senior officials in charge of the project through a video conference on Saturday and urged them to expedite work at the Angul Aluminium Park.
The park is a joint venture between state-owned Nalco and Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IDCO). It is the first such project wherein Nalco will supply molten metal to downstream industries. The project was announced in 2010 but failed to get funding and was revived in 2018 by Pradhan. The aluminium cluster will support downstream industries, attract investments and create jobs in line with the central government’s Self Reliant India program launched to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Work at the project was delayed due to the lockdowns imposed to control the pandemic. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, according to sources. The site is yet to be connected to the power grid, only infrastructure such as access roads have been constructed.
The estimated project cost is Rs99.6crore ($13.1mn) and the central government would fund Rs33.44crore ($4.4mn).
($1=Rs75.7)