Received 'quite a number of bids' for Sterlite Copper unit: Vedanta CEO

Diversified natural resources company Vedanta on Thursday said it has received "quite a number of bids" for its Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Nadu, and is in the process of evaluating them

Diversified natural resources company Vedanta on Thursday said it has received "quite a number of bids" for its Sterlite Copper unit at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, and is in the process of evaluating them.

Vedanta has put on sale its Sterlite copper smelting plant which has been closed since 2018 following the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's order over environment concerns.

Talking to PTI over phone, Vedanta's chief executive Officer Sunil Duggal said that the company had received "quite a number of bids" which are being evaluated and added that the "response has been quite good from the market".

Duggal refused to divulge the name of the companies which have shown interest in the plant, saying that it is "a bit confidential and we are in the process of evaluation".

The atmosphere, he said, is building up at the state level and more people are advocating for reopening of the plant.

"Since this was more of a social issue and not an environment issue related to the organisation, we may get favourable court orders. We are looking at all the options but we are more excited about the option of reopening and getting a favourable court order," he explained.

In an advertisement published in newspapers last month, Vedanta in conjunction with Axis Capital invited an Expression of Interest (EOI) for "sale of the state-of-art smelter and refining complex" situated at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.

The company had sought initial bids, called an Expression of Interest (EoI), for the plant having capacity to produce 4,00,000 tonnes a year by July 4.

The plant was shut after 13 people were killed in a police firing on protestors agitating against alleged pollution by the unit. The Tamil Nadu government had ordered the permanent closure of the unit in May 2018.

The company had also moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to reopen the plant, but the apex court has so far not given a clear go-ahead.