Hindalco gets green nod for Rs 240-crore copper plant expansion

NEW DELHI: Hindalco Industries (HIL), the flagship company of Aditya Birla Group, has received the environment clearance for setting up of a new cast copper rod plant in Gujarat's Bharuch district at a cost of Rs 240 crore.
Hindalco Industries's Birla copper unit has a mega copper smelting and refining complex at villages Lakhigam and Dahej in Bharuch district. It now wants to expand its continuous cast copper rod plant in the existing premises of this unit.

The company's proposal is to expand production capacity of continuous cast copper rod (CCR) from 2,44,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) to 4,84,000 TPA by setting up a new unit.

"The Environment Ministry has considered the application based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee and decided to grant environmental clearance to the proposed expansion of CCR capacity by Hindalco Industries," a senior government official said.

The green nod to the project has been given subject to certain conditions. The capital cost of the project is estimated at Rs 240 crore, the official added.

Among conditions specified, the official said that the HIL has been asked to install 24X7 automatic air monitoring devices to monitor air emissions, upgrade existing scrubbers within a year to reduce Sulphur dioxide emissions, and prepare a statement of carbon budgeting within six months and later every year.

The company has also been asked to ensure proper utilisation of fly ash, develop green belt in 33 per cent of plant area and spend 2.5 per cent of the total cost of the project towards Enterprise Social Commitment.

Total area under possession of Birla Copper is 327 hectare, out of which 4,680 sq meter area will be utilised for proposed expansion from existing spare land. The ore for the plant would be procured from domestic or imported market.

CCRs are in very high demand in industries like agrochemicals, automobiles, consumer durables, electrical equipment, railways, wire and cable industry. Presently, there is big supply-demand gap in the CCR market.

Besides CCRs, Hindalco produces copper cathodes and also precious metals like Gold and Silver. The co-product Sulphuric acid is also utilised to produce Phosphoric acid and fertilisers like Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP).