Aditya Birla Group plans a $1.26B investment to triple the capacity of its alumina refinery in Odisha

India's Aditya Birla Group has proposed an additional investment of USD 1.26 billion to expand the capacity of its Kansariguda alumina refinery in Odisha to 3 million tonnes per annum, according to the Odisha government.

The expansion will be executed by the group's aluminium company, Hindalco Industries. With the additional investment, the total proposed investment in the refinery will increase to about USD 2.1 billion. The project is intended to increase the refinery's alumina production capacity from 1 million tonnes per annum to 3 million tonnes per annum.

The proposal comes as Hindalco is also pursuing the expansion of its subsidiary Aditya Aluminium's aluminium smelter and captive power plant at Lapanga in Odisha. The proposed brownfield project would increase aluminium production capacity from 6.8 lakh tonnes per annum to 9.0 lakh tonnes per annum and captive power generation capacity from 1,230 MW to 1,530 MW.

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The expansion proposal for the Lapanga facility recently received unanimous support during the statutory public hearing conducted under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. The project will be carried out within the existing plant premises without any additional land acquisition. According to the company, the expansion is also expected to create additional employment opportunities and contribute to the local economy.