Project to create 53,500 jobs includes aluminium refinery and 4,000MW captive power plant
The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, November 22, 2024. REUTERS
Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) plans to invest $11.5 billion in an integrated aluminium project in the eastern Indian state of Odisha through a joint venture with India’s Adani Group, a state official said on Thursday, in what would be the country’s largest foreign investment in the metals sector.
The investment comes as India seeks to expand domestic aluminium production to meet growing demand from the infrastructure, power, transport, and renewable energy industries, while reducing its reliance on imports of value-added metal products.
Last year, the federal government outlined steps to boost aluminium output and said domestic demand is expected to reach 8.5 million metric tonnes by fiscal 2030.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), IHC and Adani Group will each hold a 50% stake in the venture, which will comprise a refinery, a smelter, a captive power plant and a downstream aluminium manufacturing park, creating the state’s largest aluminium complex.
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The project will have an annual capacity of four million tonnes of alumina, 2 MTPA of aluminium capacity and 1 MTPA of downstream aluminium facilities.
Odisha, home to some of India’s largest bauxite reserves used to produce aluminium, accounts for 54% of the country’s aluminium output.
The project is expected to create 53,500 jobs, with 35,000 during construction and an additional 18,500 once operations begin, the official said at the MoU signing ceremony.
The project itself will consist of a refinery that can produce four million metric tonnes of aluminium per year, a smaller-capacity aluminium smelter and a 4,000-megawatt captive power plant.
Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, does not currently operate an aluminium manufacturing facility, though it has announced plans for alumina refining and aluminium projects in Odisha.
Its flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, operates a $1.2 billion copper smelter, the world’s largest single-site plant of its kind, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
“This partnership with Adani Enterprises reflects that strategy and our shared ambition to develop a world-class integrated aluminium project that creates lasting economic value,” Syed Basar Shueb, chief executive of IHC, said in a statement.
While New Delhi is the world’s second-largest producer of aluminium, it still depends on imports to keep up with booming demand from local industries.
Last year, Indian policymakers unveiled a strategic plan to boost domestic output by scaling up production sixfold by 2047 and doubling the national aluminium recycling rate.
