Aluminium PSU major Nalco would infuse Rs 1,700 crore as equity at the Kakrapar nuclear power plant in Gujarat to pick up 49 per cent stake.
“Nalco will pick up 49 per cent equity at a price of Rs 1,700 crore in the Kakrapar nuclear power plant,” the company CMD, Mr B.L. Bagra, said.
The size of the Kakrapar plant would be 2X700 MW in Phase II, he said, adding that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is also a partner in the project.
The plant would be commissioned by 2015, Mr Bagra told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on non-ferrous metals here.
The company is also planning to set up a 50-MW windmill in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 274 crore, besides bidding for the Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP) at Sundergarh in Orissa. It is already having a 1,200-MW power plant for its captive use.
The company is also planning diversification into metals like copper and uranium. “We have decided to diversify into other metals sector in view of the global liquidity crisis,” Mr Bagra said.
For uranium, the company is scouting for assets in Africa, he said adding that in Latin America, it is scouting for copper.
The CMD said although India was surplus in bauxite reserves, the company was still seeking mining rights for the metal in a few African nations like Guinea and Cameroon.
He said that once the power generation capacity goes up substantially, Nalco would hive off the business into a wholly-owned subsidiary. Other metal businesses would also be spun off into a separate company.
On Nalco’s vision, he said the company was eyeing for non-aluminium metals which would contribute at least 25 per cent of the total revenue in the next five years.
About investment plans, he said that the company would invest Rs 1,000 crore each year.