Vedanta Group has signed up a development contract with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) for setting up a 6.5 lakh tonnes per annum (tpa) aluminium smelter and a 3,000 MW power plant at Bidhanbag in Asansol. The group will invest around Rs 20,000 on the project.

The agreement was signed between WBIDC managing director MV Rao and Vedanta CEO & director Pramod Suri.

Anil Agarwal, Vedanta group executive chairman stated that the
project would require 1000 acres, out of which 270 acre is already acquired by
WBIDC.

Both the ventures would be operational within three years.

Mr. Agarwal said a 1,500 mw power unit will be set up during the initial phase

“We will bring alumina from Orissa to feed the plant,” he added.

The project will create direct jobs for 2,500 people, whereas indirect employment would be over 25,000.

In a declaration, West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that the government would help Vedanta in acquiring the remaining 700 acres of land.

Mr. Agarwal said Vedanta, the biggest manufacturers of six metals, was a cash-rich company.

The company said that the project would be funded through debts and internal accruals initially.

Mr. Agarwal said that Bengal is the best location for the project as it has a history of metals and coal is available here.

“Power is a key input for aluminium. So, we wanted to be close to the coal belt. We will bring the surplus alumina from our Orissa operations for this project. We also have some land in the area which is an advantage,” he said.

Besides the aluminium unit and power plant, Vedanta also intends to build up a metal park in the region after the completion of the recent project. This will guarantee that with the growth of the downstream business, the region will see quick expansion, both in terms of employment generation and overall growth.