The National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) in a recent development has decided to invest Rs. 25,000 crore to launch new projects and undertake major expansion plans in the immediate future in spite of the adverse market conditions due to global meltdown.

The Chief Managing Director, C R Pradhan said that due to global downturn the company achieved a record turnover of Rs. 5,631 crore last fiscal compared to Rs. 5,576 crore during the previous year, however its profits slumped to Rs. 1,272 crore against Rs. 1,632 crore in the last fiscal. Posting a 100 per cent capacity utilization in alumina refinery and smelter, Nalco achieved a higher ever cast metal production of 361,262 tons in the last financial year as against 360,457 in the preceding fiscal.

Giving details on the domestic projects he said that besides a Rs. 6000 crore alumina refinery in Andhra Pradesh, the company plans to set up a 500,000 tons smelter plant and 1,250 mw power plant in Orissa involving an investment of Rs. 16,000 crore.

As far as its AP aluminium complex is concerned, the company is going ahead with its Rs. 6,000 crore aluminum ventures in the state as the bauxite mines it had sought has been cleared by both the central and state governments. The company has bagged Gudem and Katamraju Konda bauxite mines in the state promising a rich haul of the bauxite.

The Nalco has decided to build a 1.4 million tons greenfield alumina refinery, based on the Gudem and K R Konda bauxite deposits at Visakhapatnam at an estimated investment of Rs. 6,000 crore. The company is India largest alumina producer and third largest aluminum maker. It produced 1,576,500 tons of alumina and 361,262 tons of aluminum in last fiscal, he claimed.