Anrak readying to commission alumina refinery near Vizag
After several twists and turns, Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL), a joint venture of Ras-Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) and Penna Group of Companies, is busy in making efforts to commission its 1.5 million tonne alumina refinery set up at Rachapalli, about 80 km from Visakhapatnam.
image for illustrative purpose
Visakhapatnam: After several twists and turns, Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL), a joint venture of Ras-Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) and Penna Group of Companies, is busy in making efforts to commission its 1.5 million tonne alumina refinery set up at Rachapalli, about 80 km from Visakhapatnam.
The company, which ran into rough weather with the loan of Rs 3,461 crore it borrowed from a consortium of banks led by SBI, has finally decided to commission the refinery set up at Rachapalli in Makavarapalem mandal, about 80 km from Visakhapatnam in 2013 with an estimated investment of around Rs 6,000 crore.
Authoritative sources told Bizz Buzz that the management has already imported 'adequate' quantity of bauxite ore to operate the refinery, which was lying idle following cancellation of GO by the TDP Government in 2016 to supply 224 million tonne of bauxite ore from Gudem and Chintapalle blocks in the scheduled areas through AP Mining Development Corporation (APMDC).
Sources said the company has also made the arrangements for commissioning its captive power generation station, which has a capacity to produce 224 mw. The YSR Congress Party Government also refused to allow mining bauxite in the scheduled areas due to objections from the many.
As part of efforts to commission the plant, the company has also gone on a recruitment drive for several technical and non-technical posts.
After the TDP Government cancelled the MoU with Anrak, which was signed in 2008, the project proponent had also filed an arbitration for compensation of $44.71 million as the authorities had failed to meet their commitment to supply bauxite ore-the raw material required to produce aluminium-through APMDC.
AAL had completed the pre-construction activities and mechanical works including precommissioning trials by June, 2014. For want of raw material, it could not be commissioned till date despite efforts to source it from bauxite-rich Kakiriguma and Bahumali in undivided Koraput district of neighbouring Odisha.
D Sathibabu, CITU in-charge for Narsipatnam division, said Anrak management has stepped up efforts to start the operations of the refinery. "We don't have any objection as long as they generate jobs and do not cause any harm to the environment."
Ravi Rebbapragda, executive director of Samata (NGO which got a favourable judgment from Supreme Court on prohibition mining in scheduled areas by non-tribals in 1997) said the onus of protection of water availability to the city lies on the authorities as the Anrak project could affect the city's water supply.
