India Cements has started the paper work on a brownfield expansion to add over three million tonnes at two of its cement plants in Tamil Nadu.
Acknowledging the plan, sources in the know said the objective is to get clearances in place, as these are long-term plans for the company. The brownfield expansions are at Dalavoi, where a 40 MW coal-based captive power plant is also planned, and at Sankaridurg.
At Dalavoi, in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu, the company plans to add a new line that will add over 2.55 million tonnes to the existing 2.16 million tonne annual capacity. This will take the total capacity at the plant to 4.71 million tonnes. A 2x20 MW captive power plant will also be set up to fully meet the power requirement here. A similar exercise is also on at Sankaridurg , though on a smaller scale. The company has a 0.7 million tonne plant whose capacity will be doubled, the source said.
Annual cement production
The expansions, when they happen, will add to the company’s annual cement production capacity of 15.5 million tonnes spread across eight cement plants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The company also has two grinding plants near Chennai and Parli, Maharashtra.
Going by industry estimates of about Rs 550-600 crore investments needed for every million tonne addition to capacity, the envisaged investment will be in the range of about Rs 1,800 crore. There is no land cost as the expansions are brownfield.
The power plant will be an additional Rs 240 crore.
Company’s focus
India Cements has focussed on energy security with captive power plants totalling over 100 MW being commissioned recently.
A 50 MW unit has come up at Sankar Nagar, Tamil Nadu, and another at Vishnupuram, Andhra Pradesh.