Unveiling a new plan for high growth through diversification and expansion, aluminium giant NAlCO is set to invest more than Rs 33,000 crore in a host of sectors including energy to boost its productivity and profitability.

"NAlCO is embarking upon an ambitious growth plan involving a massive investment of more than Rs 33,000 crore in next 3 to 4 years, not only in aluminium sector but also in energy sector," Nalco CMD Ansuman Das told reporters.

"NAlCO has begun a new odyssey to conquor the challenges of present and threats of future with its new Corporate Plan ... This will give a significant boost to the company's productivity and profitability," he said.

The plan encompasses expansion - both brownfield and greenfield, diversification into energy and non-ferrous metal sectors, backward integration, merger and acquisition, Das said after NAlCO's annual general meeting held here yesterday.

Referring to greenfield projects, the NAlCO CMD said the company is planning to set up a Rs 5,500 crore alumina refinery in Gujarat with one million tonne per annum capacity. Preparation of detailed project report for this has started.

Similarly, the company is also planning a Rs 16,450 crore smelter of 0.5 MTPA capacity and power plant of 1260 MW capacity in Odisha's Sundargarh for which approval of the high level clearance authority of the state government has been obtained, Das said.

Site selection study and preliminary land survey for the proposed project is under way and the company is actively pursuing allocation of coal block in this regard, he said.

On Nalco's foray into energy sector, Das said the company had formed a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIl) to set up nuclear power plants.

Both the partners have selected Kakrapar Units 3 and 4 of 700 MW each in Gujarat as their first JV project with an estimated project cost of Rs 11,500 crore, he said, adding construction work had already started and the project was scheduled to be commissioned by December, 2015.

In pursuit of harnessing renewable energy sources, NAlCO has entered into new business of wind power generation with the establishment of 50.4 MW wind power plant at Gandikota in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of Rs 274 crore.

Second wind power plant of 47.6 mw is being set up in Rajasthan with an investment of Rs 283 crore. Another plant has been planned in NAlCO's own mined out area at Panchpatmali in Koraput district of Odisha. On brownfield projects, the NAlCO CMD said commissioning activities of capacity upgradation of 4th stream of alumina refinery from 5.25 lakh TPA to 7 lakh TPA had commenced and the plant was in the process of stabilisation.

At the same time the company had plans to go for 5th stream refinery based on medium pressure digestion technology, subject to availability of Pottangi bauxite mines, Das said.

The capacity of the stream would be approximately one million tonne per annum and investment would be around Rs 5,000 crore, Das said.

Regarding NAlCO's performance, the CMD said the company had posted a higher net sales turnover of Rs 6,809 crore in 2012-13 which was 4.75 per cent over Rs 6,500 crore achieved in the previous fiscal. The rise in sales turnover was mostly attributed to higher production and sale of alumina.

However, the net profit of the company was at Rs 593 crore during the year as compared to Rs.850 crore in previous fiscal, primarily due to high input costs, Das said.

The company achieved in last fiscal the highest-ever performance in Bauxite transportation of 54.19 lakh MT, against previous best of 50.03 lakh MT in 2011-12, he said.

At the same time, Nalco’s Alumina Refinery had produced 18.02 lakh tonnes of alumina hydrate, which was an all-time high, against the previous best of 16.87 lakh tonnes achieved in 2011-12, Das said.

The Aluminium Smelter Plant at Angul achieved cast metal production of 4.03 lakh MT against 4.13 lakh MT achieved in 2011-12, he added.

The company has also set up a Foundation for its CSR activities and allocated an additional one percent of its yearly profit, thereby doubling the CSR budget to 2 per cent of its net profit, Das said.