Nalco begins water hunt in Sundergarh

Kolkata : Barely a month after hinting at moving out of Orissa because of unavailability of land to set up its second smelting plant, National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has started a water availability study in Sundergarh district.

Nalco has engaged Lahmeyer International for conducting the study. As most smelting plants depend upon coal-fired power generation to run the operation, consistent water supply is the key requirement.

For its proposed second smelting plant, Nalco would require 90,000 cubic meter per second water per day. The study report would be available by December this year and then, the company would review the project size and composition based on the findings. Nalco was initially planning to set up its second smelting plant in Jharsuguda district, where Vedanta, Hindalco and a L&T-Dubal joint venture have also proposed to set up their units. As the area is already crowded amid alarming pollution levels, the government had directed the company to search for another site in the state.