UltraTech Cement, the country’s largest cement producer, on Saturday received board approvals for a fresh investment of Rs 13,000 crore to increase capacity by another 21.9 million tonne per annum (MTPA).
The capacity addition would be through a mixture of brownfield and greenfield projects.
Further, the Aditya Birla Group will not be making any investment in thermal power capacity. This is in line with its mission to reduce carbon emissions, UltraTech Cement said in a stock exchange update.
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: “Over the past seven years, UltraTech has strategically invested over Rs 50,000 crore to support India’s rapidly changing infrastructure landscape.
“Our fresh commitment of Rs 13,000 crore underscores our deep-rooted belief in India’s economic potential. With each investment, we have not only expanded our footprint but also powered India’s needs for housing, roads and other vital infrastructure”.
“Earlier this year, I had articulated our ambition to reach a capacity of 200 MTPA, and this expansion marks a pivotal step in that direction. With this round of capex, UltraTech reinforces its position as one of the largest cement companies in the world and a national champion,” he added.
The capacity addition of 21.9 MTPA would be under the company’s third phase of expansion, which will be achieved by setting up four greenfield and four brownfield plants and four greenfield bulk terminals.
Following this, UltraTech will have capacities of 35.5 MTPA in South, 40.4 MTPA in East, 36.2 MTPA in North, 35.7 MTPA in Central and 33.8 MTPA in the West.
The commercial production from these new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner from FY26 onwards and will catapult the company’s cement capacity to 187 MTPA.
The expansion also includes investments in setting up additional 39 MW Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) capacity at a cost of Rs 453 crore and Rs 180 crore towards alternative fuel feeding and handling equipment. This is under the company’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
UltraTech Cement will use green energy in excess of 60% by the end of 2027. This will be supported by a total WHRS capacity of over 400 MW and renewable energy of approximately 1.5 GW, it said.
Last week, the company said its ongoing expansion programme is progressing as per schedule. A proposed capacity addition of 5.5 MTPA has already been commissioned in this fiscal, which followed a 12.4 MTPA capacity addition in FY23.
The company also commissioned 30 MW of WHRS capacity in Q2, and green power now contributes 22% of the total power requirement with 262 MW of WHRS and 429 MW of renewable energy.