Italian delegation shows interest in investing in Angul Aluminium Park

Bhubaneswar: The prospect of rapid expansion in the Aluminium sector in Odisha, especially in the upcoming Angul Aluminium Park has attracted the attention of the visiting high-level delegation team from Italy to set the platform for investment and collaboration with its counterparts in Odisha and India.

The Aluminium Association of India (AAI) held the Indo-Italian Metal Hub seminar in NALCO Nagar, Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Italian team led by the Consul General of Italy, Italian Aluminium Association, CEOs and Senior Executives of different Italian organisations and the Indian team led by NALCO, Government of Odisha, businesses and Government agencies and associations of Indian and Italian industry were involved in important deliberations.

They discussed the way forward to collaborate in the Aluminium sector.

Damiano Francovigh, Italian Consul General in India stressed on the improvement of bilateral relations between India and Italy.

“Strengthening economic cooperation between India and Eastern India will go a long way in improving relations between Italy and India. The Indo-Italian Metal Hub seminar titled ‘Aluminium Age’ is also an effort in that direction,’’ he added.

Odisha Industries Minister Niranjan Pujari said, “Odisha offers the perfect ecosystem to be the Hub of Aluminium sector and we are committed to forging strong economic tie with Italy. The molten aluminium can be directly obtained from NALCO when the Angul Aluminium Park becomes operational.’’

Industries secretary Sanjeev Chopra also strongly pitched the upcoming Angul Aluminium Park.

“This visit by the Italian delegation team has come at a very opportune time as the future looks bright for investors looking at investing in the aluminium sector in Odisha. The potential for collaboration is immense,” said Chopra.

“The response to the Angul Aluminium Park is unprecedented and will become a major centre in the world for aluminium downstream activities. The Park will rival the best in the world and NALCO will be there to provide concessions and hand-holding support to organisations,” he added.

S.K.Dash, Executive Director, NALCO, added, ‘’We welcome the visiting delegation team from Italy and are ready to walk the extra mile to make Angul Aluminium Park an attractive investment destination for businesses.’’

The Seminar is expected to pave the way for discussion amongst important players, businesses, State Government and Government agencies, and associations of Indian and Italian industry in the engineering, metals and transportation sectors.

The Indo-Italian Metal HUB tour is a programme aimed at decision makers in the industrial sector in India, Italy and Europe.