According to an official from Vedanta Limited, India's aluminium production could reach 5 million tonnes (mt) in the next five to six years, with an increase of about 25% from its current level.

In the AZ China virtual aluminium conference, the Director of Commodities at Vedanta Limited, Deeptaman Mukherjee, said that 4 mt of metal production could reach 5 mt in five to six years.

He added that with the new market participation, 5 mt could reach 5.5-6 mt of aluminium production.

According to Fitch Solutions, the country will be the stand-out growth market for aluminium demand in the coming years with the increasing demand for infrastructure projects. It expects a tripling of the production to 9.5 mt by 2030 from 2.6 mt this year.

Mukherjee said that the expansion of Vedanta's alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, with ramp-ups, will result in enough production of raw materials to fulfil the need of the domestic aluminium smelting industry.

The company is expanding its annual capacity at Lanjigarh to 5 mt from 2 mt of alumina at about Rs 4,681 crore.

He said that the increase in output was expected to be achieved in 12-18 months, and it would reduce its reliance on alumina imports. In 2020, the company produced 1.9 mt of aluminium.

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