Kalburgi Cement, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Vicat France, has commissioned 1.2 million tonne per annum bulk cement terminal at Khapoli on the outskirts of Mumbai with an investment of ₹70 crore.

The company will bring cement in bulk by train from its 2.25-mtpa (million tonne per annum) plant in Gulbarga to the packaging unit in Mumbai and tap into the growing demand in the city. In 2010, Vicat acquired majority stake in Bharati Cement which has a capacity of 5.50 mtpa. It sells cement under Bharati brand name.

Growing demand

Anoop Kumar Saxena,, Chief Executive Officer, Kalburgi Cement, said the demand in Mumbai, the key market in Maharashtra, is growing steadily despite presence of most cement companies,while Vicat would have edge over others in terms of proximity to market and transportation cost.

The cost of transporting cement from Gulburga to Mumbai works out to about ₹1,700/tonne, while a tonne of cement in Mumbai sells at ₹6,780. The new Mumbai terminal will have own siding and wagons besides facility to store 12,000 tonnes at any point of time.

Bullish on cement demand growth in India, Vicat plans to invest ₹300 crore this fiscal.

Vicat brand name

Vicat, which has presence in 11 countries, will be using its own brand name for the first time outside France because it believes the brand-conscious city can appreciate its quality better.

Vicat has launched Duramate for retail customers and Optimate for business to business segment for use largely in infrastructure projects. The company has limestone reserves for next 100 year and imports coal from abroad. Vicat has already acquired land for setting up a grinding unit of 1.70-mtpa in Vizag to tap the eastern markets. The grinding unit will be ready by 2021 by when it plans to have capacity of 13 mtpa by doubling of Kalburga capacity to 5.50 mtpa with an overall investment of ₹1,700 crore.

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