THOOTHUKUDI: Putting all speculations to rest, Vedanta Limited had clarified to the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) that it is not selling its copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi. A media report alleged that the cash-starved Vedanta was searching options to sell the Sterlite plant for Rs 4,500 crore.
The copper smelter has remained shut for the past five years since it got caught in legal tangles. A final order over the company’s appeal petition, pending before the Supreme Court, is expected to be issued this August.
In a clarification to the BSE, the corporate office of Vedanta informed that the media articles related to the sale of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant are wrong, baseless, and incorrect and the same is refuted by the company. “Sterlite Copper is a national asset and contributes to 40% of India’s copper.
"As the country has become a net importer of copper, which has adversely impacted inter-alia the downstream and ancillary industries, there has been a growing demand for Vedanta-Sterlite copper to restart its operations,” the note claimed.