Date:15/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/15/stories/2005071501930200.htm

Back Jindal South West's Vizag plant financial closure likely soon

C.R. Sukumar

Dr Nowal said the time between the project plan and production takeoff was expected to be about four years.

Bellary (Karnataka) , July 14

JINDAL South West Steel Ltd (JSW), part of the Rs 18,000-crore O.P. Jindal Group, expects to achieve financial closure for the proposed Rs 9,500-crore aluminium project near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in the next three to six months.

The project involves a refinery and smelter plant. The production capacity would be 1.5 million tonnes per annum for the refinery and 0.25 million tonnes per annum for the smelter. The raw material - bauxite ore - would be sourced from the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC), which would mine the bauxite independently.

Talking to a group of visiting journalists at the JSW integrated steel manufacturing facility located at Toranagallu near Bellary in Karnataka, the JSW Executive Director, Dr Vinod Nowal, said the time span between the project plan and production take-off was expected to be about four years.

The company expects to receive all the clearances for the aluminium project, including bauxite mining and environmental, in the next 3-6 months.

The Vizag Aluminium project would be implemented in two phases, involving a time frame of two years each.

The first phase is expected to involve a capital expenditure of around Rs 3,000 crore.

Stating that the details on the means of finance were currently being worked out, Dr Nowal said the first phase would be implemented with the help of internal accruals and funds from the financial institutions and banks.

"We will consider tapping the capital markets for raising funds for the implementation of the second phase of Vizag project," Dr Nowal said.

According to the JSW Executive Director, Mr J.P.N. Lal, the Jindals would float an independent public limited company for the implementation of the aluminium project.

In the joint venture for bauxite mining, APMDC would hold 51 per cent equity, while JSW would have 49 per cent. The equity holdings pattern for the aluminium company would be worked out later, he said.