By Bizodisha Bureu, Bhubaneswar, December 8, 2015: The public sector metal major, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL), a Govt. of Gujarat promoted company, have launched a joint venture to set up a Rs 1800-cr Caustic Soda Plant.

Nalco chairmam and managing director, Tapan Kumar Chand laid the foundation-stone of the proposed plant, after Bhumi Puja at Dahej in Gujarat on Monday.

The new JV company, GACL-NALCO Alkalies & Chemicals Private Limited, in which NALCO holds 40% share capital, while GACL holds the rest, plans to produce 2.7 lakh tonnes of Caustic Soda per annum. The land transfer and ordering of plant equipment are in the final stages. The office of the new company was also inaugurated today in Baroda.

​ “As a backward integration plan of NALCO, the project is expected to be a highly profitable venture for us. NALCO shall purchase at least 50,000 tonnes of Caustic Soda per year to start with, at market price,” Chand said on the sidelines of inauguration.

It may be mentioned here that the availability of Caustic Soda in India is very low and the major part of the domestic requirement is met at a high cost. The venture will bring in import substitution of Caustic Soda in domestic market.

​NALCO also has plans to in the set up a 0.5 million tonnes per annum Alumina Refinery in Kutch district of Gujarat in joint venture with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), a Govt of Gujarat Undertaking. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project has been prepared.