Utkal Alumina is putting up facilities to produce 1 million tonne of alumina per annum for the international market. The Rs 4,300-crore project is coming up at Doraguda in Rayagara district of Orissa. It is likely that the Utkal Alumina stakes will be taken over by Hindalco, which now holds a 74.62 per cent stake in Indal, including 54.6 per cent earlier controlled by Indal's parent Alcan.

At present, Hydro holds a 45 per cent stake in Utkal Alumina, Alcan 35 per cent and Indal 20 per cent. Indal has become Hindalco's subsidiary since June 27, 2000.

"We are discussing the issue with the management of both Hydro and Alcan. They have said they will cooperate with us," Indal's vice-chairman Askaran Agarwala said after the company's 62nd annual general meeting on Thursday. He presided over the AGM in the absence of its chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. Although Agarwala said that the deal would take three to four months to finalise, sources indicated it might be clinched in two months. "We will try to close the issue as early as possible," a senior official of the group said.

Agarwala also declined to confirm whether the Utkal Alumina stakes will be taken over by Hindalco itself. "It does not matter whether the stakes are being taken over by Hindalco or Indal since the latter is a subsidiary," Agarwala said.

"A detailed study to work out the best way to ensure maximum utlisation of all assets and manufacturing facilities on Indal and Hindalco is on the anvil," he said. He said priority will be given to streamlining operations, reducing costs by eliminating non-value adding activities and generating resources and assets.