SAMBALPUR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday unveiled three greenfield and brownfield projects of Hindalco Industries Ltd worth about Rs 26,496 crore, including India’s first flat-rolled products (FRP) unit and battery-grade aluminium foil manufacturing facility, at Lapanga in Sambalpur district.
Majhi laid foundation for the expansion of Aditya Aluminium smelter with an additional capacity of 3.6 lakh tonnes per annum. It will be implemented at a cost of Rs 21,000 crore. The FRP unit has a 1.7 lakh tonne capacity while the battery-grade aluminium has been developed at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.
Addressing the gathering, Majhi described the day as historic for the region. “Western Odisha is emerging as a global industrial hub where world-class investment meets people-centric development. Our focus is to create jobs close to home, strengthen MSMEs, promote value-added and green manufacturing, and ensure that when industry grows, every family, every village and every youth grows with it,” he said.
The newly-inaugurated battery foil manufacturing unit, he said would strengthen India’s self-reliance in battery manufacturing and support the rapid growth of the electric vehicle ecosystem.
“Development is not measured by investments or announcements only but by real change in people’s lives, jobs for youth, security for families and better education and healthcare,” the CM said.
He assured that Sambalpur would soon host the state’s second World Skill Centre after Bhubaneswar which would ensure that industry-ready youth are not denied employment opportunities.
Speaking on the occasion, managing director of Hindalco Satish Pai announced announced an investment of Rs 37,000 crore in Odisha, which is part of company’s Rs 55,000 crore growth capital expenditure plan, with projects spanning Sambalpur, Rayagada and Sundergarh districts.
Odisha has become central to the company’s growth journey, he said and added that the expansion, including greenfield and brownfield alumina projects and smelting capacity additions, would generate around 15,000 new jobs.
“We are thankful to the Odisha government for its support and partnership. Hindalco has already invested over Rs 40,000 crore in the state, creating employment for more than 28,000 people,” he said.
Emphasising sustainability, Pai said Hindalco would add 300 MW of renewable energy capacity in the coming days to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 30 per cent, adding that the company supplies aluminium to global majors including Boeing and Mitsubishi.
Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari; minister for Skill Development and Technical Education Sampad Chandra Swain, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, Rengali MLA Sudarshan Haripal, former Rengali MLA, Nauri Naik and additional chief secretary, Industries department Hemant Sharma were present.