By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 9, 2020: The High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the apex body to clear investment projects in Odisha, approved a new greenfield alumina refinery unit, proposed by Aditya Birla Group-owned Hindalco Industries at an estimated cost Rs 8,000 crore.

The two million ton per annum capacity refinery will come up at Kansariguda near Rayagada in Odisha and is expected to spawn employment for 4,250 people and scheduled to go on stream by 2025. Hindalco will bank on the Odisha government on raw material for feeding the refinery mostly from any of the leases of Odisha Mining Corporation.

The alumina refining unit is planned at the foothills of the Kodingamali bauxite lease, currently under OMC’s leasehold. Hindalco already has 1,500 acres for this refinery. Rest 600 acres needed for the project will be made available by the state authorities.

This will be Hindalco’s second alumina refining complex in Odisha after Utkal Alumina refining project, also in Rayagada district. The Utkal refinery is fed by the company’s captive Baphlimali bauxite mines, with enough reserves to cater to the refinery’s requirement for 25 years after its ramp-up. The mine contains very low amount of reactive silica.

Hindalco has pledged Rs 5,000 crore to ramp up the capacity of the Utkal refinery to three mtpa.

The HLCA also gave the go-ahead to Rungta Mines to ramp up capacity of its existing integrated steel plant threefold from 0.9 mtpa to 0.27 mtpa at an investment of Rs 2,135 crore. Following the scale-up, the project will generate additional employment for 2,289 people.

In all, the HLCA approved investment projects worth Rs 17,833 crore. The combined employment potential of the three projects is 6,539 new jobs. Chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the HLCA also appraised the status of investment intents received during the first two editions of Make in Odisha organised in 2016 and 2018.