IHC and Adani partner on USD 11.5 bn aluminium venture

Adani and IHC link up for USD 11.5 bn aluminum play: Adani Enterprises and International Resources Holding (IRH), the mining arm of Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) are planning to set up an INR 1.08 tn (USD 11.5 bn) aluminium manufacturing plant in eastern India, according to a statement.

Adani and IRH have signed an MoU with the Odisha government to develop the project through a 50:50 joint venture. It’s the largest foreign investment India’s metals sector has ever seen — and the biggest single commitment IHC has made to the Adani Group since the pair first partnered in 2022.

Buildout plan: The facility will feature a 4 mn tons per annum (tpa) alumina refinery, a 2 mn tpa aluminum smelter, a 4k MW captive power plant, and a 1 mn tpa downstream manufacturing park. The project will roll out in two phases, with the first phase accounting for roughly USD 7 bn of the investment and the second getting the remaining c.USD 4.7 bn, per the JV statement. The government in Odisha — which holds some of India’s largest bauxite reserves and already accounts for 54% of national aluminium output — will fast-track land, power, and water clearances.

The corridor read: For Abu Dhabi, this deepens a relationship already central to the Adani story. IHC — chaired by the Emirate’s deputy ruler Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — put USD 2 bn into three Adani companies in 2022. The Abu Dhabi firm said last year it plans to deploy USD 110 bn in India over the next five years across data centers, renewables, nuclear power, and infrastructure.

Why it matters: The Odisha joint venture cements a strategic pivot, channeling UAE capital beyond financial services and listed equities straight into India’s heavy industrial base. For Adani, it rounds out an expanding metals portfolio, while IHC secures a lucrative foothold in a core commodity vital to infrastructure, transport, and manufacturing across the subcontinent.

The commercial logic

This is Adani’s second metals play after its Gujarat copper smelter came online last year, dropping it into a race with metals giants Hindalco and Vedanta.

The demand backdrop: India is currently the world’s second-largest producer and third-largest consumer of aluminum. Despite this, per capita consumption hovers between 3.4-3.9 kg — well below the global average of 8-12 kg. India’s aluminium consumption is projected to rise to 8.5 mn tons by FY 2030 and 28 mn tons by 2047, which would require national capacity to scale to 37 mn tpa, according to a government report.

Logistics for the project would likely run through Adani’s own Dhamra port on the Bay of Bengal, keeping the value chain in-house, according to Economic Times. The port sits on the Bay of Bengal along India’s eastern coast and is owned by Adani’s ports and logistics arm.