Adani, Abu Dhabi’s IHC plan $11.5 billion aluminum bet in Odisha

Adani Group and Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) plan to invest $11.5 billion, or about ₹1.08 trillion, in a large integrated aluminum project in Odisha, marking a major push by the Indian conglomerate into metals and a fresh deepening of its ties with Gulf capital.

Adani Enterprises Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Odisha government for the greenfield project, which will be developed in partnership with IHC. The investment is being positioned as India’s largest integrated aluminum project and one of the largest foreign investments in the country’s metals sector.

The proposed complex will include an alumina refinery of about 4 million tons per annum, an aluminum smelter of nearly 2 million tons per annum and a downstream aluminum park of about 1 million tons per annum. It will also be supported by about 4,000 MW of power capacity and a 400 MW green energy component.

The project is expected to generate about 35,000 jobs during construction and another 18,500 jobs once operational.

For Adani, the Odisha plan is more than a new factory. It extends the group’s move from infrastructure ownership into industrial materials that feed infrastructure itself.

Aluminum is used in power transmission, transport, construction, renewable energy equipment, packaging and consumer durables.

A large integrated plant would give the group a foothold in a metal that is central to electrification, urban expansion and manufacturing.

The move also follows Adani’s entry into copper through Kutch Copper Ltd, its $1.2 billion smelter at Mundra in Gujarat. That plant gave Adani a place in a metal tied closely to power, electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Aluminum offers a similar strategic logic, but at a larger scale and with a more direct link to the group’s interests in ports, power, logistics, airports, energy and industrial development.

Odisha has some of India’s richest bauxite reserves and is already central to the country’s aluminum industry. Locating a refinery, smelter, downstream park and power support in the same state gives the project a chance to reduce logistics costs and build around an existing mineral and metals ecosystem.

The partnership also strengthens Adani’s relationship with IHC, one of Abu Dhabi’s largest investment groups.

IHC first invested $2 billion in Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd in 2022. It later exited some Adani group holdings but increased its stake in Adani Enterprises, keeping exposure to the group’s flagship incubator company.

For IHC, the aluminum project fits a wider pattern of deploying Gulf capital into large, long-life assets tied to energy, infrastructure and industrial security.

India is the world’s second-largest aluminum producer after China, but its consumption remains well below global averages.

Domestic demand is expected to rise as the country builds more power networks, rail and metro systems, renewable energy capacity, electric vehicles and urban infrastructure.

Government planning has projected aluminum demand at 8.5 million tons by FY30, with much larger requirements over the following two decades.

A 2 million ton smelter would be a large addition to India’s primary aluminum capacity. That makes the project strategically significant, but also exposes it to the hard economics of aluminum.

Smelting is power-intensive, capital-heavy and sensitive to raw material security, environmental approvals, global prices and financing costs. The size of the proposed power support shows how key electricity will be to the project’s viability.

India has long wanted to move beyond primary metal production into higher-value aluminum products. Downstream capacity can support sectors such as automotive components, electrical products, construction materials, rail systems, renewable energy equipment and packaging.

If the park develops around real customer demand rather than only capacity announcements, it could help reduce dependence on imported value-added aluminum products.

The project also places Adani alongside established aluminum producers such as Hindalco Industries Ltd, Vedanta Ltd and state-owned National Aluminium Co. Ltd. Those companies already operate across mining, alumina, smelting and downstream products. Adani’s advantage is its ability to build large infrastructure systems, secure logistics and attract long-term financial partners.