UAE’s IHC, Adani plan $11.5 billion aluminum project in India’s Odisha

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) plans to invest $11.5 billion in an integrated aluminum project in the eastern Indian state of Odisha through a joint venture with India’s Adani Group, a state official said on Thursday, in what would be the country’s largest foreign investment in the metals sector.

The investment comes as India seeks to expand domestic aluminum production to meet growing demand from the infrastructure, power, transport and renewable energy industries, while reducing reliance on imports of value-added metal products.

Last year, the federal government outlined steps to boost aluminum output and said domestic demand is expected to reach 8.5 million metric tons by fiscal 2030.

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), IHC and Adani Group will each hold a 50% stake in the venture, which will comprise a refinery, a smelter, a captive power plant and downstream aluminum manufacturing park, creating the state’s largest aluminum complex.

The project will have an annual capacity of 4 million tons of alumina, 2 MTPA of aluminum capacity and 1 MTPA of downstream aluminum facilities.

Odisha, home to some of India’s largest bauxite reserves used to produce aluminum, accounts for 54% of the country’s aluminum output.

The project is expected to create 53,500 jobs, with 35,000 during construction and another 18,500 once operations begin, the official said at the MoU signing ceremony.

Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, does not currently operate an aluminum manufacturing facility, though it has announced plans for alumina refining and aluminum projects in Odisha.

Its flagship firm Adani Enterprises operates a $1.2 billion copper smelter, the world’s largest single-site plant of its kind, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

(By Kashish Tandon; Editing by Abinaya V and Rashmi Aich)