India’s leading manufacturer and exporter of manganese alloys Maithan Alloys Ltd announced plans to set up a 72 MVA ferroalloys unit at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh with an installed capacity of 120.000 tonnes per annum at an investment of INR 275 crore.

According to Mr SC Agarwalla MD of Maithan Alloys Ltd, the project will be set up under the aegis of a wholly owned subsidiary and it will be funded by a mix of debt, equity and internal accruals. Commercial production from the unit will commence from the fiscal 2011-12.

Addressing a news conference, Mr Agarwalla said the company presently has a 94,600 tonne per annum capacity ferroalloys plant that is located near Asansol in West Bengal. Another plant with a capacity of 28,000 tonne per annum is being set up in Meghalaya and the same is slated to be commissioned in the last quarter of the current fiscal.

Mr Agarwalla said all the plants would concentrate on the manufacture of manganese alloys only. With the commissioning of the Andhra Pradesh project, the company would account of 18% of the country’s production of manganese alloys, up from 10% at present.

According to him, Maithan Alloys has also decided to set up a 100% subsidiary for its mines and minerals business. Efforts are on to acquire manganese ore for captive use. Environmental clearance for one such ore located in Orissa was awaited.