UAIL, which did not have a chairman on its board till now, will now have NK Choudhary as an "independent director". The company, which has recently seen the exit of the Tata Industries as one of its partners, has applied afresh for clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) under the new equity pattern.

Tata Industries had expressed its intention to move out of UAIL following its decision to concentrate on the core area of operations.

A final decision on the equity pattern has come through, and it has been decided that the 20 per cent stake of the Tatas will be picked up by Alcan and Hydro who until now had 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. These two partners will pick up 15 per cent and 5 per centrespectively in the one million tonne project at Rayagada in Orissa. The UAIL board has approved the sale of shares to Alcan and Hydro in the ratio of 3:1.

According to the UAIL official, financial advisor SBC Warburg is expected to put in a draft financial model now that the fresh equity pattern has been decided. A multitude of financing options may be considered that could range from project finance to suppliers' credit, apart from normal finance from banks and financial institutions.

The due diligence process has taken up extra time due to the fresh equity proposals. The due diligence is being done by SBC Warburg, which will initiate dialogues with various financial bodies. Project specifics including construction risks, cost overruns, raw material offtake and a gamut of other issues will have to be decided upon, said the official.

Meanwhile, the promoters have already submitted details of the project in the form of information on land requisition, return on investment and other factors.

The UAILproject, a 100 per cent export-oriented unit (EoU) in the Raygada district of Orissa is slated to produce almost one million tonne per annum of calcined alumina for the global alumina market. Considered to be one of the world's largest greenfield projects, it will get its bauxite reserves from Baphlimali in Orissa.