JSW Cement capacity expansion by 2018; forms JV with Aussie co

JSW Cement, part of the USD 11 billion JSW Group, on Monday said it plans to complete expansion of its capacity to 17 million tonnes (MT) by April 2018 and has entered into a joint venture with Australian firm Wagners to launch and promote earth-friendly concrete (EFC) in India.

"We are expanding our capacity from 6.8 MT to 17 MT and the exercise is expected to be completed by April 2018.

The expansion includes 2.4 MT at Vijaynagar in Karnataka, 2.4 MT in West Bengal and 1.2 MT each in plants located at Dolvi in Maharashtra, Mangalore and Orissa. The total expenditure is estimated at Rs 2,700 crore," JSW Cement Managing Director Parth Jindal told PTI here.

On overseas projects, he said the company will set up a 1 MT facility at Fujairah in UAE, where work will start in March and likely to be completed in 18 months.

JSW Cement has also entered into a joint venture with Wagners to launch EFC to India. The new venture, JSW-Wagners, will be a subsidiary of JSW Cement.

Wagners, a family-owned entity based in Toowoomba, Australia, is engaged in the business of contract quarrying, contract concrete, cement, pre-cast concrete, composite fiber technologies, steel reinforcing, bulk haulage & transport.

JSW will hold 74 per cent stake in the JV while Wagners Group will hold the rest.

The JV will be operational by January 2017 and involve little investment. Its focus will be to promote EFC and look to create a category for geopolymer-based cement in India, Jindal said, adding that the product will be launchd in South India in July next year.

EFC is an environment-friendly product and its use will erase the demand of Portland cement which is responsible for high CO2 emission. EFC concrete is cement free and utilises industrial byproducts like slag and fly ash. EFC helps in resource conservation, energy savings and offers customers durability and high level of sustainability.

Jindal said about 95 per cent of raw materials of the product is either slag, which comes out of the steel-making process, or fly ash, that comes out of power-making process.

He sounded hopeful of growing the business in future.