BackMadras Cements to invest `360 crore to build grinding unit
Company plans to commission the unit with an annual capacity of one million tonnes in the second quarter of 2014-15
Premium(Mint)
Chennai: Madras Cements Ltd plans to spend ₹ 360 crore to build a grinding unit in Visakhapatnam, the company said in its annual report.
The company, which has two grinding factories in Tamil Nadu and one in West Bengal, plans to commission the fourth unit with an annual capacity of one million tonnes in the second quarter of 2014-15, the company said.
In the grinding units, clinker is ground with gypsum and fly ash into a fine powder to make cement. These units are located in areas where fly ash is available. Fly ash is produced by burning coal, typically at power plants.
The output from this plant would be sold in coastal Andhra Pradesh, with Visakhapatnam being the main market, and also in Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
The company also plans to invest ₹ 55 crore in power generation. Madras Cements said it will boost the capacity of its thermal power plants in Alathiyur, Jayanthipuram and Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu by adding one 6 megawatts (MW) turbine each. It now operates wind farms with capacity to produce 159MW of electricity.
The cement industry, which grew by 7% in 2012-13, is expected to grow by 8% in the current fiscal year, helped by higher demand from state spending on infrastructure, rural housing and a general increase in economic activities, the company said.
The excess capacity created by cement makers in the past few years will have an impact on production and sales. The capacity-demand mismatch is expected to fall in the next few years, improving capacity utilization, said the company.
Separately, the company has proposed to change its name to Ramco Cements Ltd because it sells cement under the Ramco brand.
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