October 11, 2008

Indian aluminum industry can attract INR 100,000 crore – Report

Mr D Bhattacharya MD of Hindalco Industries terms the aluminum industry as the fastest growing sector among all the metals and said that the sector had the potential to attract INR 100,000 crore investments. He added that the total production capacity of aluminum will reach up to over 5 million tonnes from the present 1.5 million tonnes in next 4 years.

He said, at 5 million tonne production capacity, India would be among the top 3 aluminum producers in the world. At present, India ranks 6th in alumina production, 8th in aluminum production and 5th in aluminum consumption in the world.

Mr Bhattacharya, while addressing at international conference on aluminum “Incal 2007”, said that India can position itself as the primary producer, consumer and exporter of aluminum to take advantage of its enormous bauxite reserves, low production costs and huge domestic market potential. He added that “Of late, aluminum production is seen a shift from Europe and the West to Asia, which now accounts for close to 40% of the global aluminum production as compared with a mere 12% share in 1980. The growth in aluminum consumption is expected to register between 8% and 10% in the future.”

He further added that, while almost all the major aluminum players in India, including NALCO, BALCO and Vedanta, have been ramping up their capacities, Hindalco had planned a INR 26,000 crore capital expansion to increase the capacity to 1.6 million tonnes by 20011-12 from the present 0.5 million tonnes. The electricity sector, which requires over 40% of aluminum, continues to lead in terms of domestic consumption. However, certain new areas besides other sectors like automobiles and construction are expected to boost India's domestic aluminum consumption.