JSW Cement plans 4.3 mt plant in Karnataka

JSW Cement Ltd is considering setting up a 4.3-million-tonne (mt) cement plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka.

The company is optimistic about demand revival in the South, as the economic activity picks up in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said SS Sandhu, Associate Vice-President, JSW Cement, Secunderabad.

At present, JSW Cement has a capacity to produce 6.4 mt of cement with plants in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Explaining the advantages of building a new plant in Karnataka, Sandhu said the company already has land in Gulbarga and the region is limestone-rich. Another advantage is that supplies could be made from Gulbarga to cement markets in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Since the group company, JSW Steel, produces slag (a by-product of steel production), JSW Cement could manufacture slag cement, though limestone would be a critical raw material.

Asked about the economic slowdown, Sandhu conceded that there was “negative growth” in construction the South. But “stability” has come back. A lot ofprojects are expected to come up in the near future in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The new Andhra capital planned in Vijayawada would also spur building activity, he added. The company expects a pick-up in demand will drive up capacity utilisation to 75 per cent by the end of the current fiscal from 55-60 per cent now.

JSW Cement has a cement plant in Kurnool, Andhra Prdesh, with 4.8 mt capacity and a smaller plant with 0.6 mt capacity in Bellary, Karnataka. Besides, it had recently taken over a 1-mt capacity plant in Dolvi, Maharashtra, taking the group’s cumulative capacity to 6.4 mt. In view of the shortage of river sand, slag sand is being increasingly used as an alternative to make cements, he added. However, the share of retail sales of slag sand is less as it’s mostly used by cement makers.

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