Ambuja Cement plans major expansion in Himachal

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Chandigarh, Sept 23: Ambuja Cement Limited (ACL) is planning a major expansion in Himachal Pradesh.

The company which has a cement plant at Darlaghat in Solan with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) is planning to enhance capacity by another 2 mtpa with a total investment of Rs 700 crore in a phased manner.

It is further planning to double the headcount at the plant which currently stands at 1,000.

The company also has plans to put up a clinker grinding unit in Nalagarh in Himachal with a capacity of 1 mtpa.

“The expansion project at Darlaghat would be commissioned by June 2009 and it would take the total production capacity of the company across India by over its current capacity of 18 mtpa,” revealed a highly placed official with ACL to FE.

Going ahead with its expansion spree, the company is further planning to come up with a cement grinding unit at Panipat with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa.

The project is likely to begin in 2009 and would catalyse an investment of Rs 200 crore. This apart from a cement grinding unit at Uttarakhand with an investment of Rs 150 crore. “The company has also expanded capacities across other locations, primarily at Beawar in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh where it is planning another cement plant,” said the official.

It is to be noted that among other investments, the company already has two grinding units in Punjab. The grinding unit at Ropar has a capacity of 2.5 mtpa and the Bhatinda unit has a capacity of 0.6 mtpa.