“NALCO will invest about Rs 30,000 crore to build a five lakh tonne smelter and a 1,500 MW captive coal-fired power plant in Indonesia. We hope to sign a MoU with that country’s government early next year in this connection,” a NALCO spokesman told PTI over phone.

He said NALCO would initially invest Rs 15,000 crore for a 2.5 lakh tonne smelter and a 750 MW power plant, the work for which would begin by the middle of 2009. “Thereafter, we will double the capacity of the smelter and that of the captive power plant by 2011-12,” he added.

The project is to be located in a Southern Sumatran island. Nalco would conduct a feasibility study after signing the MoU, he said, adding, that alumina required for the smelter would be sourced from India.

A team from Indonesia visited Orissa recently and is understood to have held preliminary talks with state government officials on working out the modalities for setting up the smelter.

NALCO is also planning to invest around Rs 20,000 crore to set up two greenfield projects, an alumina refinery in Andhra Pradesh and an aluminium complex in Orissa.

Follow-on IPO

The company plans to go for a follow-on public offering or a rights issue to part-fund investments. It also plans to raise around Rs 6,000 crore through ECBs  to finance equipment imports.

The company is looking for a mix of options, equity, debt and internal resources to fund the new projects, if the two state governments clear them. The company has cash reserves of around Rs 6,000 crore.