India: Dalmia Cement has prepared a US$335m investment plan to ramp up the company's cement manufacturing capacities by the end of 2014. With this expansion the company's total capacity will grow from 17Mt/yr to 21Mt/yr. The move will also help strengthen the company's presence both nationally and in the north east of India.
The company intends to set up a 2.5Mt/yr greenfield unit at Belgaum, Karnataka, for a cost of US$242m and expand its two plants in north-east for US$93m, according to Puneet Dalmia, CEO & managing director of Dalmia Cement. Completion of the proposed expansions is expected to boost the company's bottom line by 10%. The firm, which also owns 45.4% stake in OCL India, will commission its new unit under OCL India by December 2013.