JSW to invest Rs 1,900 cr in cement plants

Mumbai, July 29

JSW Cement, part of the Rs 40,000-crore OP Jindal Group, plans to set up cement units near the group’s steel plants at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, and Vijayanagar, Karnataka.

The units will have a combined capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Mr Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer, said of the project cost of Rs 1,900 crore, JSW Cement, closely held by the promoters, would invest Rs 400 crore.

“The company has already tied up debt for the remaining Rs 1,500 crore and the project will be completed by March 2011,” he said.

Clearance

Gayatri Cements, the partnership company of JSW Cement, has received environment clearance for setting up the cement plant at Gadivemula village, Kurnool. The company has also got the “consent order” from the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board and environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest for limestone mining, Mr Rao said.

JSW Cement will use the flyash and slag produced by JSW Steel which, in turn, will produce more (flyash and slag) as it expands in the next two years. By 2010, JSW Steel plants will produce 3.5 mtpa of slag, which is sufficient to produce 7 mtpa of cement.

Steel-cement link

JSW Cement plans to set up cement plants adjacent to all upcoming steel plants of the group, thus making it a leading cement producer in the country, he said.

Incidentally, JSW Steel has added 2.8 mtpa at its Vijayanagar plant in April, taking the capacity to 6.8 mtpa and scaling up the capacity of the company to 7.8 mtpa. By March 2011, it has targeted 11 mtpa.

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Cementation is also following the flyash route. It has announced plans to build 20 mtpa cement capacity from flyash sourced from its power plants. Reliance Cementation will invest Rs 10,000 crore to set up the plants.

Taken from Business Line

thehindubusinessline.in