By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 26, 2020: Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of Crusher and Conveyor System at National Aluminium Company Limited’s Mining & Refinery (M&R) Complex in Damanjodi in the state.

(NALCO) is a Navratna central public sector enterprise.

The System will cater to feed bauxite for the 5th stream of Alumina Refinery of the company. The project is expected to be completed by April, 2022 and would cost around Rs. 483 crores.

The metal giant is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium- Power Complex in Asia. “We as a country aim to reach a $5 trillion economy by 2024 and I am sure NALCO will be a success story in this growth trajectory.” Shri Joshi said while interacting with employees of NALCO after laying the foundation stone.

Joshi referred to Odisha’s strong mineral base saying, “Our Govt. has taken a number of steps to unlock the mining potential of mineral rich States for the benefit of the country as well as the population residing in these areas.” He also appreciated the State Government for supporting mining activities in the region and highlighted that it will help in boosting the economy and bringing development to the State.

Earlier on Monday, Joshi had chaired a review meeting of NALCO at Visakhapatnam and directed the senior officials of the company to ramp up production to achieve annual target. He expressed his happiness over NALCO becoming the world’s cheapest producer of Bauxite & Alumina for the 4th consecutive year. He also praised NALCO for achieving capacity utilisation in the midst of challenges arising out of operating in a remote location.