Vedanta to invest Rs 6,611 cr for Bharat Aluminium expansion

Vedanta, an oil and gas and metals company, announced that it would fund Rs 6,611 crore in the next 18-24 months to expand the smelter capacity at Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco). The company also said its carbon plant adequacy industry in Odisha would establish a new facility at Rs 635 crore. After the expansion, the smelter capacity of Balco would grow by 414 ktpa. With this new investment, the value-added products portfolio of Balco would increase to 92%, driving its total capacity to nearly 1 million tonnes (mt). Group CEO Sunil Duggal told the media that the expansion of Balco is quite significant for them. They hope to increase the smelter capacity within the next 18-24 months. He said that after the development, the aluminium capacity of Vedanta would rise to 2.8 mt. Moreover, Duggal said that the firm was concentrating on decreasing manufacturing costs by approximately $300 per tonne to nearly $1,200 in the next couple of years. It would benefit to improve the realisation and profitability of the aluminium business significantly. The aluminium business of Vedanta recorded a great force throughout the first quarter of FY 2021-22 with the highest-ever production of 549 KT and a margin of 36%. Recently, the firm was granted the Kuraloi (A) North coal block in Jharsuguda, an optimal fit for its smelter unit. Throughout the first quarter, Vedanta decreased its debt by Rs 6,989 crore and the Net Debt/EBITDA ratio at 0.6x, which is the lowest in the last four years. The firm also has a substantial liquidity place with cash and cash equivalents at Rs 31,318 crore. Image Source Also read: Vedanta to establish aluminium park in Odisha at Rs 10k cr Also read: Vedanta Aluminium invites cement firms for low carbon cement