Vendanta Resources to set up world's single largest smelter at Bharat Aluminium

Mumbai: Bharat Aluminium Co. (BALCO), a unit of UK-based Vendanta Resources Plc., has signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a new 650,000 tonne aluminium smelter.

The new unit will cost Rs 8,100 crore ($2 billion), BALCO said in a statement.

Mining and metal major Vedanta Resources said the 650,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) smelter is planned at BALCO's facility in in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

On completion of the project, BALCO's output will go up from 350,000 tpa to 1,000,000 tpa. As of now, no company in the world produces 1 million tpa aluminium from a single location.

In 2001, Vedanta Resources plc took over the management control of BALCO, formerly owned 100 per cent by the government of India, after the then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government divested 51 per cent equity and management control in favour of the then Sterlite Industries (I) Limited (now Vedanta Resources).