UltraTech to invest Rs 3000 cr in Gujarat
Maulik Pathak / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad April 17, 2008
To set up cement plant and a 60-Mw power project.
UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla group company, is setting up a greenfield project at Mahuva in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat at an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.
UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla group company, is setting up a greenfield project at Mahuva in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat at an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.
The company has proposed a cement plant with a capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes per day or about 3.5 million tonnes of cement annually. This apart, it is planning to set up a 60-Mw coal-based power project in the area. It has earmarked about 2,500 acres of land for the project of which 10 per cent has already been acquired, said sources close to the development.
"We have approached the Gujarat Maritime Board for a private jetty at Mahuva," said a senior company official.
Ultratech intends to import coal for the proposed power project and send cement to its terminals. From the ash produced from the power plant, the company might also set up a grinding unit for producing portland pozzulino cement.
UltraTech has five integrated plants, five grinding units and three terminals — two in India and one in Sri Lanka. Its installed capacity at present is 17 mtpa, of which about 40 per cent is produced in Gujarat.
The two composite plants -- Gujarat Cement Works and Narmada Cement - Jafrabad Works -- have a capacity to produce 5.3 mtpa and 0.4 mtpa respectively. Its two grinding units in Ratnagiri and Magdala have a total capacity of 1.1 mtpa.
The company exports over 2.5 million tonnes per annum. Ambuja Cement and UltraTech together accounted for about 58 per cent of the total cement shipped overseas in FY08.
The recent prohibition on cement export could now prompt these players to look mainly to the domestic markets for liquidating their output. This may add significantly to supply in markets such as Gujarat and Maharashtra.
UltraTech recently launched UltraTech Building Solutions Retail stores in Surat, Rajkot, Gurgaon & Trichy. The company plans to roll-out close to 200 such stores across the country by the end of this calendar year.