The Hindu Business Line : Dalmia Cements planning to double capacity

Hyderabad, Feb. 8 Dalmia Cements Bharat Ltd (DCBL) will be doubling its production capacity to 12 million tonnes by the end of next fiscal year by commissioning three Greenfield projects.

“The work in three projects coming up at Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Ariyalur (Tamil Nadu) and Cuttack (Orissa) is progressing well. These projects will help increase our capacity from current 5.5 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes,” Mr Puneet Dalmia, Director, Dalmia Cements Bharat Ltd told Business Line here.

The Kadapa plant (2.25 million tonnes) and Cuttack plant (2.25 million tonnes) would commence production in September 2008 while the Ariyalur project would go on line by March 2009. The company has invested over $500 million in these projects, he said.

In view of the huge demand in the domestic market, the additional capacity would be utilised to cater to markets in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Western Region and Jharkhand. “We are already supplying to these markets and the additional capacity will also go there,” Mr Dalmia said.

Though DCBL, which ranks seventh among the top cement companies in India, is exporting oil well cement (used in drilling process) to the Gulf region, the focus is only on domestic markets, he added.

Domestic capacity

On the demand-supply gap in the market, Mr Dalmia said building domestic capacity is the only solution. “Though there is a talk on cement imports from Pakistan, I feel cement is a local business in the long term and the capacity should be built within the country. I am bullish on a long term view. Next 10 years, the market would be at ease,” he said.

The capex pipeline in the country would facilitate additional capacity generation of 100 million tonnes in next two to four years and the surplus capacity would be visible in next 18 months, he added.

The Tiruchy-based company is expecting to clock a turnover of Rs 1,200 crore this year. “By the end of 2009-10, we will be crossing Rs 2,000 crore,” Mr Dalmia said.

More Stories on : New Projects | Cement

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page