Gujarat to get two new cement projects
After a lull of nearly a decade, two large greenfield cement projects are coming up in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
This will be the first major new activity on the cement front in the state after the commissioning of the Hyderabad-based Sanghi Group’s cement unit at Abdasa in Kutch district of the state nearly a decade ago.
The Braj Binani Group is setting up the first project comprising two units at two different locations. The two units will have a total combined installed capacity of 2.5Mt. The locations are still to be finalized, company officials said.
Mysore Cements Ltd. (MCL), the Indian arm of HeidelbergCement, will set up the second project, company officials said.
Initially, Mysore Cements had planned a 1Mt capacity plant but now it has decided to double the capacity to 2Mt of cement.
The project will come up at Rohisa Vadhera Balana village, about 7km from Jaffarabad town in Amreli district in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The project is awaiting environment clearance, company officials said.
In May this year, the Binani Group had said in presentations made to analysts that it is planning a cement project in Gujarat. The location of the project was not announced then.
Company officials, however, said Thursday the Binani Group will set up a clinker grinding unit near a port in the Saurashtra region. While part of the unit’s production in clinker form will be shipped to Dubai for grinding, the rest will be ground at the unit to make cement for the domestic market.
For its second unit, the Binani Group is thinking of a location in South Gujarat.
The total project comprising both the units is estimated to cost Rs8bn. This will include capital expenditure on a captive jetty, company officials said.
Both the units will start operations by 2010, officials of the two companies said.
Published under Cement News
