State-owned aluminum major National Aluminium Company (NALCO) has earmarked an investment of Rs 900 crore on nuclear power ventures, for which the former has signed a joint-venture agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) in November. The company would be investing Rs 300 crore in the current quarter on the project, while the remaining will be invested in next fiscal.
As per the plan, the investments will be made on unit 3 and 4 of Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat. Both the units of KAPS entail a total investment of Rs 7,000 crore and are planned to be commissioned by 2015.
The company, which currently has the permission of having only 26% stake in nuclear power ventures, is holding talks with government to increase the same to 49%. In case of increase in its stake, the aluminium major would up its investment on the developments of both the units of KAPS.
Venturing into the nuclear power sector is part of NALCO’s future growth plans, under which it aims become a diversified metals, mining and power producing company, with an estimated turnover of over Rs 25,000 crore by 2020. As per the plan, the company would venture into power sector as an independent producer and once the generation capacity goes up substantially, the business will be hived off into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
