KOLKATA, Dec 8: In a bid to capitalise on the anticipated growth in cement demand in East and Northeast India, Star Cement is fast-tracking its expansion plans in both greenfield and brownfield projects, so that the total capacity reaches 9.7 million tonnes per year by 2025-26, an official said on Friday.
The largest player in the Northeast at present, Star Cement’s current installed capacity is 5.5 million tonnes.
“By the end of 2023, our capacity will be 7.7 million tonnes, and by 2025-26, it will reach 9.7 million tonnes,” said Star Cement CEO Vineet Kumar Tiwari told PTI.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the 6th Cementing India conference organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
The total investment for the expansion plan is around Rs 2,200 crore, of which Rs 1,000 crore has been invested so far, Tiwari said.
Speaking about Guwahati brownfield expansion, he said it is rolling out a two million-tonne fresh annual grinding unit that will commence commercial production by December.
The company is also looking to optimise its capacity in West Bengal.
In Meghalaya, it is setting up an additional 3 million tonne clinker capacity by March, bringing its total clinker capacity to 5.7 million tonnes.
While the North East market grew by 11 per cent last year, demand has plateaued in November. However, the company expects a revival due to increased government spending in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
“Our current top line is around Rs 2,900 crore, and we expect it to exceed Rs 4,000 crore once the expansions are complete,” Tiwari said.
Star Cement is also planning a two million greenfield grinding plant in Silchar.
The company expects strong demand in the January-March quarter due to government spending and the upcoming election year. It anticipates a top line of Rs 3,200-3,300 crore for the current financial year and this will ramp up to over Rs 4000 crore once the expansion plans are executed.
Meanwhile, experts at the conference noted that sustainability is core of the India’s vision to third largest economy target.
Shree Cement joint president Gajendra Pratap Singh said cement companies have to act responsibly as there is an 8.8 per cent rise in CO2 emissions from the sector.
He, however, asserted that companies are taking measures in this regard. (PTI)
