As raw material scarcity is hitting hard his Rs 50,000-crore aluminium project in Odisha, Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal has remarked that he regrets choosing the project over an acquisition venture in the United States for the investment.
He said he was about to buy Asarco, a readymade US mining company, but he then preferred to invest on Vedanta Aluminium project in Odisha as India has bauxite and human resource. “I think, at the end of the day, if you ask me, I regret. I could have done better if I would have bought Asarco,” Agarwal said in an interview to a news channel.
His remark is viewed in the backdrop of the Vedanta alumina refinery at lanjigarh in Odisha facing an uncertain future due to lack of an assured supply of bauxite. The refinery is currently operating at about 50-60 per cent of its installed capacity. The unit needs three million tonnes of bauxite to run at full capacity.
The Vedanta has invested Rs 50,000 crore in the refinery along with an aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda and a captive power plant in the State. Meanwhile, earlier this week, the State Government allowed the Vedanta to source bauxite from mines owned by the larsen and Toubro.