National Aluminium Company's (NALCO) proposed Rs 16,345 crore second aluminium and captive power complex in Orissa is under dark clouds as the Orissa government has asked NALCO to shift the venue of the project from Jharsuguda in western Orissa to Gopalpur in southern parts of the state.
According to sources, the state has suggested shifting of the location of the project as it feels, Jharsuguda is saturated with a number of mega industries, particularly in sectors like power, aluminium and steel etc.
The project envisaged setting up of a 0.5 million tpa aluminium smelter along with a 1260 MW captive power plant. Jharsuguda was chosen as the possible site for the plant due to its close proximity to the IB valley coalfields and as the land required for the project was expected to be trouble-free as most part of the identified patch was government and barren land.
However, moving the project to Gopalpur will mean going farther from the coal mines, increasing the cost of transportation of coal. Besides, it is more convenient to carry alumina from the company's refinery at Damanjodi in Koraput district for conversion into aluminium at Jharsuguda compared to carrying it from Damanjodi to Gopalpur.
If the government insists on shifting the location of the project to Gopalpur, the company will be forced to shelve its project plan.
Source : ProjectsToday
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