India: Steel Authority of India Ltd cement unit to be built
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has finalised plans to set up a 2Mt cement unit at Kulti in Bengal close to its IISCO plant in Burnpur. The cement plant will utilise the blast furnace slag generated while producing hot metal at the IISCO unit.
The proposed Kulti unit will be SAIL’s third cement plant, taking its installed capacity to 6.2Mt.
“The Kulti unit will be in the joint sector and a number of private players, including established cement manufacturers, have evinced interest to participate in the project,” a top SAIL official said. The investment for the Kulti project will be around INR500 crore (US$10.6m).
“Under SAIL’s corporate responsibility for environmental protection charter, it is envisaged that blast furnace slag will be fully utilised to adhere to environmental requirements. The most economically viable utilisation has been in the manufacture of cement,” the official said. SAIL is set to become a big player in cement by 2020, the official said.
SAIL had earlier inked joint venture agreements with Jaiprakash Associates to set up cement manufacturing units at Bhilai and Bokaro steel plants involving an investment of around INR 900 crore.
Cement despatches from the Bhilai unit that have an annual capacity of 2.2Mt started in June. The 2Mt Bokaro plant will start in July next year.
Published under Cement News
