Nalco signs MoU to set up aluminium smelter, power plant in Indonesia

National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) signed an agreement here today for setting up a half-a-million tonne per annum aluminium smelter and a 1,250-MW coal-based power plant in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province at an investment of $4.5 billion.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was initialled here by Nalco Executive Director, Mr P.K. Mohaptra, and the Governor of East Kalimantan, Mr Awang Faroek Ishak.

The investment by the Indian state-owned aluminium giant will be deployed through a Nalco-led joint venture, in which it will have 75 per cent equity. The remaining equity in the joint venture will be held by a local coal mining firm.

Aluminium raw material for the project, to be completed in four years, will be sourced from Nalco's operations in India, while five million tonnes of coal per annum will be procured from local mines, Indian official sources said.