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| Edited By: |Source: IANS |Updated: Mar 19, 2018, 02:10 AM IST
Ambuja Cements Ltd plans to invest Rs2,000 crore for capacity expansion in Rajasthan and the northern region with the proposed Rajasthan project adding five million tonne capacity to the company's total production.
"We are adding new capacities. We are actively pursuing the five million tonne capacity expansion in Rajasthan and neighbouring northern regions with an investment of Rs2,000 crore," said company CEO Ajay Kapur.
"A typical cement plant requires 1,000 hectares of land and we have acquired most of the land required. There are a few approvals to be taken and then we can start the work," he told reporters at the company plant here in Howrah district.
The company would also be adding 0.9 million tonne capacity to the 1.5 million tonne Sankrail plant over the next two years at a cost of Rs325 crore, he said.
According to Kapur, the company controls 10 percent of the overall Indian cement market currently. "We would like to sustain the same for the next five years," he said.
The company also plans to open its third project in Bengal in the near future. Its other unit is Farakka with a 1.5 million tonne capacity. "By and large, we will be the largest player in the state. Currently our market share in Bengal is 18% and we hope to continue the same."
Kapur also exuded confidence at the company continuing to register a double digit growth rate. "The demand has been fairly boisterous. We have been growing in double-digit CAGR and aim to continue doing so."
"When we started in 1986, we were just 0.7 million tonnes but today we are 27.25 million tonnes. So we are growing by about 15% CAGR. Hopefully we are able to maintain the same trend," he said.
Divulging the company's further expansion plans, Kapur said a 1.25 million tonne grinding unit will be established in Gujarat's Sanand and a one million tonne bulk cement terminal in Mangalore, Karnataka. He, however, refused to give any time frame for the upcoming projects.
