Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Brownfield development project of Nalco for its aluminium smelter plant in Angul district of Odisha is on the top priority term of the Central Government as stated by the Union Minister of Coal and Mines- Pralhad Joshi.
The Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi stated in a letter that as of now there is no change in the Nalco projects and the expansion development of the aluminium smelter plant in Angul is working on and is the main concern for the Central Government. The development of the detailed project report (DPR) is working on, and the Ministry of Mines is taking every possible step to properly implement the project to achieve the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
In Pradhan’s letter, he also stated that the Nalco project is undertaking the project for increasing its capacity from 0.46 MTPA to 1 MTPA which includes a 1400-MW feeder captive power plant with an estimated budget of Rs 22,000 crore.
Also, the Nalco’s bauxite production capacity will increase from 7.3 MTPA to 10.5 MTPA with the operationalisation of Pottangi mines. He further stated that out of this, up to 3.1 MTPA consists of alumina which can produce around 1.5 MTPA aluminium. The project heavily depends on affordable coal supply to the 1400 MW feeder plant for uninterrupted power.
Pradhan proposed the feeder plant’s commissioning while considering the project’s potential for the economic improvement of the area and its people.
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