By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, July 13, 2026: The East Coast region, home to 74% of the total bauxite reserves, one of the most-neglected regions in the country, will soon get a facelift with a number of alumina and aluminum projects lined up in Odisha. The East Coast region, part of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, has a staggering 2,600 million tonne of in-situ reserves of bauxite, which promises to become a game changer in the world of aluminium.

Odisha’s poorest Kalahandi and Koraput districts have 10 bauxite deposits, accounting for a whopping 1,846 million tonne while Andhra Pradesh has nine deposits having 800 million tonne proven reserves. PSU Nalco operates only Panchapatmali bauxite mine in Koraput district – one of the biggest deposits in the world against nearly 200 operating mines in the country.

With such vast deposits of bauxite, global as well as the Indian companies are now queuing up to set up Greenfield Aluminium projects in these districts. Billed as India’s largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the metallurgy sector, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) and Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding (IRH), an IHC Group company, have signed an MoU with the Odisha government to develop an integrated greenfield aluminium project at an estimated investment of about Rs 1.08 lakh crore (USD 11.5 billion).

The integrated complex will comprise a 4 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) alumina refinery, a 2 MMTPA aluminium smelter, a 4,000 MW captive power plant and a 1 MMTPA downstream manufacturing park, along with supporting infrastructure. The massive $11.5 billion (₹1.08 lakh crore) Adani-IHC mega aluminium project will be split across two districts in Odisha – Rayagada and Sundergarh districts.

The 4 MMTPA alumina refinery will be built on a 3,200-acre site in Rayagada district while the 2 MMTPA aluminium smelter, a 4,000 MW captive power plant, and a 1 MMTPA downstream manufacturing park will be constructed on a 4,100-acre site in Sundergarh district. The project is India’s largest-ever foreign direct investment in the metals sector and will rely on the nearby Adani Dhamra Port for integrated logistics. Bauxite will be sourced from OMC’s Sasubahumali mine and Adani’s Kutrumali and Bahalda mines, then transported to the smelter via conveyor belt and rail.

The project will be implemented in two phases, with Phase I attracting around Rs 66,000 crore and Phase II another Rs 44,000 crore. The venture is expected to generate around 53,500 jobs, including nearly 35,000 during the construction phase and another 18,500 across mining, refining, smelting and downstream manufacturing operations. Additional indirect employment is expected in logistics, engineering, maintenance and ancillary industries.

Similarly, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal and Odisha chief minister Mohan Majhi unveiled transformative investment plans totaling over Rs 1 lakh crore. This includes the development of new Aluminium Parks in Jharsuguda and a Rs 2,000 crore ferro alloys plant in Keonjhar, the Chief Minister’s home district. Majhi recently inaugurated India’s first Flat Rolled Products (FRP) aluminium unit at Hindalco’s Aditya Aluminium plant in Lapanga, Sambalpur, marking a major milestone for value-added metals.

The Aditya Birla Group proposed an additional ₹12,000 crore investment to expand its Kansariguda refinery, which Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla reviewed during a meeting with CM Majhi in Bhubaneswar. The Aditya Birla Group on Saturday announced plans to scale up its investments in Odisha, proposing an additional Rs 12,000 crore to expand its Greenfield alumina refinery at Kansariguda in Rayagada district.

The proposal will increase the refinery’s capacity from the originally planned one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 3 mtpa, taking the total investment in the project to Rs 20,000 crore. The Kansariguda refinery, being developed by Hindalco Industries Ltd, the metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, was originally approved as a 1 mtpa greenfield alumina refinery with an estimated investment of around Rs 8,000 crore.

Ironically, India in the last four decades could not leverage its strength by emerging as the epicentre of an aluminium revolution and that too at the lowest cost quartile. Bauxite mining is more ecofriendly than any other minerals. Bauxite deposits are always available at the top of the plateaus, which have sparse vegetation as the mineral is porous in nature and does not hold water which trickles down the mountain slopes. Bauxite has one more fundamental advantage over other minerals. The value addition is invariably done close to the mining source.

Yet the Indian aluminium industry today produces only a nominal 4 million tonnes of metal with a very low per capita consumption of 3.2 to 3.9 kg compared to the world production of 72 million metric tons annually and global average of over 8-11 kg respectively. China dominates the industry, producing roughly 43 million metric tons per year. The per capita metal consumption in the advanced countries like Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, the US etc is between 30-35 kg in the developed countries, experts said.