Larsen & Toubro on Wednesday said its metallurgical and material handling business has commissioned the 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) expansion project of Utkal Alumina International, a wholly-owned arm of Hindalco.
The plant is located at a remote location at Kucheipadar, near Tikiri in Odisha’s Rayagada district.
With this expansion, the alumina production capacity of the refinery has been upgraded from 1.5 MTPA to 2 MTPA, Larsen & Toubro said in a statement.
The expansion project was inaugurated by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“L&T MMH has executed this project in a time-bound manner ensuring the most critical process units of the refinery are ready. The company used modular erection methods with sophisticated machinery for speedier project execution,” the statement added.
“The L&T MMH team overcame many difficulties at the remote location of the project including limited material availability, inadequate local skilled workmen, hilly terrain, and heavy rainfall with a prolonged rainy season etc.,” it said.
Moreover, the challenging work was completed during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, with 2,000 workmen working at the site with all due precautions and safety measures.
“The L&T MMH team ensured utmost care for the workmen by providing not only basic amenities but also requisite medical facilities and timely payment of wages to maintain high morale of the workmen and to protect them from infections during this period,” the statement said.
