JK Cement plans expansion spree

JK Cement is planning to almost double its grey cement capacity to 18Mta in four years with brownfield and greenfield expansions.

The company is embarking on a brownfield expansion of 3.5Mta at its Mangrol facility in Rajasthan. This involves capital expenditure of about INR15,000m (US$232.8m). Work at Mangrol is expected to start by end FY17-18 and commissioning is expected by end of 2019, Rajnish Kapur, head of grey cement business, told Economic Times.

Separately, JK is also working on a 3.5Mta greenfield project at Panna in Madhya Pradesh, the cost of which is estimated between INR17,500m and INR20,000m. "In Panna, we already have a mining lease," Kapur said.