Ashapura Minechem Ltd has signed up a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with government of Maharashtra in order to establish a high-tech Alumina Complex at Ratnagiri, in the coastal belt of Maharashtra.

The company would spend Rs 4,200 crore on the project including an investment of Rs 1,320 Crores for a 330 MW Captive Power Plant.  

The project, covering up 1500 acres of land, will create direct and indirect employment for more than 3000 people.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Chetan Shah, Managing Director of Ashapura Group, and Mr. A.M. Khan, Principal Secretary (Industries) of the Government of Maharashtra, in the presence of the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Ashok Chavan and a host of other dignitaries.  

The Government of Maharashtra has granted “Mega Project” status to the Alumina Complex project being set up by Ashapura Minechem.

Ashapura’s planned project includes a 0.5 million tons Alumina Refinery, 0.15 million tons Aluminium Smelter and a 330 MW Captive Power Plant at Rajapur, Ratnagiri area.

While speaking on the occasion, Honourable Chief Minister, State of Maharashtra, Shri Ashok Chavan said, “We have taken various steps to ensure speedy developments of industrial projects in Maharashtra. These measures from the state has made Maharashtra an extremely investor friendly state. We envisage a manifold increase in investments in the coming years. It’s a pleasure to have mega projects from successful and growing companies like Ashapura Minechem in Maharashtra. I am happy that like many others, Ashapura preferred Maharashtra over other states for this mega project. I wish Ashapura all the best for their future endeavours.”

Ashapura, going by tradition, will set up training plant to guide the locals to achieve the required skills. Mining is the second largest occupation in India after Agriculture and presently, Ashapura Minechem employs more than 25,000 people in the mining segment.  

Mr. Chetan Shah, Managing Director, Ashapura Minechem said, “We started our journey way back in 1998 by applying for various licenses for the mining of Bauxite in Maharashtra. Mining operations commenced in 2001. Today, Maharashtra has over 200 billion tonnes of bauxite reserves which offer us a conducive environment to set up a complete integrated state- of- the -art Alumina Complex. This project, a first of its kind in India, is the largest project on the west coast of Maharashtra. In terms of potential markets we plan to export alumina to the Middle East which has an annual requirement of over 2.5 million tons.

“Another key factor of the project is that it not only helps generate employment, but also adds to the growth of the state. We have over 40 years of experience in the mining sector and have successfully followed a well tried & tested module of creating employment by adopting different training institutes in vocational & trade. These institutes will serve as training centres for local people to harness their skill and acquire job knowledge resulting in employment generation for the local people of Ratnagiri district,” Mr. Shah added.

Besides employment for trade, Ashapura is also known for working towards the upliftment of women and has set up academies helping women in all round self development by gaining computer knowledge & various other skill sets.

Mr. Joseph, Chief Secretary of Government of Maharashtra, while appreciating the progress made by Ashapura Minechem, assured all necessary assistance for development and execution from Government of Maharashtra.

Mr. A. M. Khan, Principal Secretary (Industries), Government of Maharashtra, speaking on the occasion, expressed his satisfaction at the deployment of indigenous and environment friendly technology in the mega project by Ashapura Minechem in Maharashtra.