Vedanta secures approval for its Lanjigarh alumina refinery expansion worth of INR 5,600 crore

Vedanta Resources Plc reported that it received approvals for expansion of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha, and inked contracts with Emirates Global Aluminium for bauxite. The present capacity of the refinery is 2 million tonnes per annum which are expected to expand by 2021, said CEO Ajay Dixit to Economic Times India. The total investment required for this expansion would be INR 5,600 crore.

According to the report, the Anil Agarwal-led natural resource major is also eyeing 6 GW of stressed thermal power plants for captive use.

Dixit confirmed the company obtained all the required approvals for the expansion, while Sanjeev Chopra, Odisha principal secretary industries said the single window clearance was given last year.

Dixit also alleged the local protests that had thwarted the company’s plans of bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills in Odisha were backed by its rivals in the UK, Brazil, and Australia. However, Vedanta continues to focus on domestic mines within Odisha. 

Vedanta also imports half of its required bauxite. At the present, it requires 6 million tonnes per annum which is likely to grow to 18 million tonnes post-expansion. 

Alleging that local protest at Niyamgiri was motivated, Dixit said, “Tribal people are very innocent and they follow the leader who they trust. “There is no common platform where we can sit on a table and discuss. This leaves a gap for motivated or political objectives.”