Nalco puts Indonesian project on hold

The state-run National Aluminium Company Ltd. (Nalco) on Wednesday said it has put on hold its proposed alumina smelter project in Indonesia due to uncertainty over the availability of coal. The Bhubaneswar headquartered company wants to set up a 0.5 million tonnes per annum capacity aluminium smelter in East Kalimantan area of Indonesia at an investment of about $4 billion. It wants to set up a coal fired 1,250 MW captive power plant to feed the smelter. “Nalco has been hoping to set up the smelter, primarily backed by availability of good quality coal at economical prices, but has been facing troubles,” Nalco Chairman BL Bagra said.. from:gulftoday