Jaypee to set up cement plant in HP

Jaypee group is setting up a 2.5Mt cement plant in Himachal Pradesh.  The new project, estimated to cost about Rs 600 crore, will be among the largest-capacity cement plants in North.  The new plant will catapult Jaypee group to the fourth-largest player in the cement sector, with a combined capacity of about 10Mta.

In the northern market including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Jaiprakash Associates would become the No 1 player once its new cement plant goes on-stream. Grasim (along with CemCo), ACC and Gujarat Ambuja hold the top three slots nationally.

The Jaypee group has started its new project rolling, with the group flagship Jaiprakash Associates signing of an MoU with Himachal Pradesh last weekend. The state government, however, will not hold any equity in the project and the 100 per cent equity of the venture will be with Jaiprakash Associates.

The group plans to fund the project through a mix of internal accruals and debt. About 40 per cent of the total requirement will come from internal accruals while the remaining 60 per cent will be mopped up through debt route. The project is expected to be commissioned in late 2006 (original report Times of India).