BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government and Navratna public sector blue-chip National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for establishment of an aluminum park at Angul at an estimated investment of Rs 75 crore.

The proposed park will be a 50:50 joint-venture between Nalco and the state-owned Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).

The MoU was signed by Mr P K Dey, general manager (business development), Nalco and Srikant Kabi, managing director IDCO in the presence of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, industry minister Raghunath Mohanty, Nalco chairman and managing director C R Pradhan, chief secretary T K Mishra, industry secretary Sourabh Garg and several other dignitaries.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said establishment of the aluminium park would help entrepreneurs to set up downstream industries near the Nalco’s smelter at Angul.

“My government’s Industrial Policy 2007 and Medium Small Micro Enterprises [MSME] Policy 2009 accord highest priority for development of ancillary and downstream industries in MSME sector for greater value addition of steel and aluminium products in the state. The proposed park is yet another step to provide a platform for MSME industries to come up and grow,” Mr Patnaik observed.

NALCO CMD Mr Pradhan said MSMEs coming up in the 200-acre proposed park would save a lot of cost as it will be located close to the smelter plant.

“Being close to the smelter plant, transfer of alumina in molten stage is possible. This would reduce the cost of production,” Mr Pradhan said, adding, the MSMEs in the proposed park would have easy access to water, coal, electricity and other required materials.

The ancillary and downstream units identified to be set up in the proposed industrial park in the alumina/aluminium sectors will be caustic soda, calcined petroleum coke, coal tar pitch, aluminium fluoride, aluminium conductors, aluminium extrusions, aluminium castings, slugs and circles; and aluminium power.

“I hope the initiative will trigger similar downstream and ancillary industrial parks in close vicinity of the new mega projects being set up in aluminium, steel and power sectors in Orissa,” industry minister Mr Mohanty said.