India Cements to build Rs 10-bn plant in MP

India Cements Ltd is planning to set up a new cement manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh with a total investment of around Rs 10 billion, with the company expecting a better capacity utilisation from the next financial year. The company is expecting prices in South India to also pick up from the fourth quarter of the year, improving its performance from there on. The company recently announced the acquisition of the entire shareholding of Springway Mining Pvt Ltd, in a phased manner, at a total cost of Rs 1.82 billion with an objective to set up a cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. N Srinivasan, the vice-chairman and managing director of the company, said, "Our objective is to set up a cement plant. The investment will be around Rs 9-10 billion. Mostly, we will fund it internally." The company may also look at further expansion plans going forward, he added. With the new plant, India Cements' total manufacturing capacity will go up from 15.5 million tonnes per annum at present to around 17 million tonnes per annum as the new facility will have a capacity of around 4,500 tonnes per day.The new facility is expected to be ready for operation by January 2021. It will be dedicated to producing Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC). The new plant will help the company supply cement to central and eastern parts of the country. After years of sluggish growth, the company is expecting the pick up in demand to continue on the back of the increasing consumption from infrastructure projects, roads, irrigation projects and private sector housing, besides the government's push for affordable housing projects.