Displaying items by tag: India

India: Sagar Cements has completed the sale of its 47% stake in its joint venture company, Vicat Sagar Cement. Sagar had earlier obtained approval from the shareholders through postal ballot for the sale. Sagar and Vicat entered into the joint venture in June 2008 with the objective of setting up a 5.5Mt/yr cement plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka. The first phase of the plant, which was to reach a production capacity of 2.75Mt/yr, was completed in December 2012. Production commenced in January 2013.

India: UltraTech Cement has completed the acquisition of cement plants of Jaypee Cement Corporation (JCCL) in Gujarat State. UltraTech informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the acquisition process had been completed and became effective from 12 June 2014.
In September 2013 UltraTech acquired the cement unit of JCCL, which comprised an integrated cement plant at Sewagram and a grinding plant at Wanakbori, for US$627m. Post-acquisition, UltraTech's total capacity in India stands at 58.8Mt/yr. Including overseas capacity it is 62Mt/yr.

India: Ramco Cement has announced that it intends to construct a cement factory at Kilimigundla in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh at a cost of US$250m. The total investment in the cement plant and related infrastructure could go up to US$500m, as the development will require a 20km rail line to facilitate transport.

Ramco has requested that the State Chief Minister provide necessary land to develop the plant and also facilitate necessary clearances to develop the rail line, which Ramco claims would also be useful for other projects in the area.

Meanwhile, Ramco has indicated that its new plant near Visakhapatnam will also be ready for commissioning by 15 October 2014.

India: Shree Cement has received the approval to acquire a 1.5Mt/yr cement grinding unit in Panipat, Haryana, which is currently owned by Jaiprakash Associates. The unit will reportedly be sold for US$59.6m.

The deal is subject to adjustments for any financial indebtedness and net working capital taken over as of the closing date and subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence and obtaining necessary approvals and consents.

India: Dalmia Group is looking at a merger of its listed cement companies Dalmia Bharat and OCL India, according to industry sources. As part of the restructuring plan, Dalmia Bharat will also merge its unlisted arm, Dalmia Bharat Enterprises, with itself. Global private equity firm KKR owns a 14.5% stake in Dalmia. Bharat Enterprises will eventually own a minority stake in the merged listed entity.

Dalmia Bharat and OCL India have revived plans of the merger after a failed attempt in 2008. Dalmia Bharat owns 48% stake in OCL India and both companies together have a cement capacity of close to 20Mt/yr. The new entity would be the fourth largest cement producer in the Indian cement industry.

India: Shiva Cement has received approval for an Interim Business Plan for a 200,000Mt/yr capacity expansion as proposed by the Project Management Committee (PMC). Shiva Cement's board of directors has also approved the project. Besides, the PMC has been authorised to take decisions for leasing, sale, disposal, or to deal with the idle fixed assets in the best interest of the Shiva Cement.

India: Reliance Cement plans to set up a cement plant and raw material quarry in Sedam Taluk, Gulbarga District, as well as a 3Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Gowribidanur Taluk at a cost of US$114m.

As per the pre-feasibility report for the Sedam project, which was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Reliance said that it will set up an integrated 5.5Mt/yr cement plant with 3.6Mt/yr clinker production capacity and a 75MW power plant. Reliance is also setting up a 5Mt/yr limestone mine in the Tilkur and Hebal Villages, both in Sedam Taluk. The project is expected to be completed in 24 months, once the Karnataka government has approved it. Reliance is awaiting the Terms of Reference (TOR) from the MoEF, for which it had applied on 7 April 2014.

The project cost is estimated to be US$428m for the Sedam cement plant. For mining activity, Reliance has placed the initial cost at US$52.5m. Reliance received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Department of Mines and Geology in Karnataka to mine on 9.29km² at the Tilkur and Hebal villages. The mining activity in the leased area is scheduled to be for 5Mt/yr of limestone. The LoI was granted to Reliance cement on 30 July 2010.

India: Orient Cement, a CK Birla Group company, is in talks with cement companies to acquire a cement plant as part of a plan to triple its capacity from 5Mt/yr to 15Mt/yr by 2020.

"We are in strategic discussions with three players to acquire a cement plant with a capacity of up to 2Mt/yr," said Deepak Khetrapal, managing director and CEO of Orient Cement. He declined to name the companies, but added that the plant would be ideally located in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh.

The expansion plan also involves setting up greenfield cement plants and expanding existing facilities. Orient Cement has set up a 3Mt/yr greenfield plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka, which will become operational shortly. The company also plans to open another greenfield plant in the next five years, according to Khetrapal.

Orient Cement has outlined a capital expenditure of around US$444m for the expansion plan, to be funded through internal accruals and debt. Currently the company operates in Telangana and three regions of Maharashtra: Khandesh, Vidarbha, Marathwada. The expansion will give Orient Cement access to markets in Karnataka and central India.

India: As a result of poor demand and unremunerative prices, several cement companies in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have shut down plants or are running them on a campaign basis. Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have nearly 25% of India's limestone reserves.

"Demand continues to be weak, but prices have started to improve now as manufacturers have decided not to sell below cost," said one unnamed cement producer. "Several plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana have shut down or are in the process of a sale."

Among the plants that have shut down their operations temporarily is the Panyam Cements' 0.4Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh. "We had shut our plant due to internal financial issues, but that has been sorted out and the plant restarted 10 days ago," said a Panyam spokesperson. Bheema Coromandel, which has a 1.2Mt/yr plant near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh is only running its plant for 'token' production, according to local sources.

"There is practically no demand in South India," said N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of India Cements. "The negative growth in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana has continued for far too long." India Cements has reported a US$493,340 net loss for the quarter that ended on 30 June 2014.

Cement production capacity in the south of India is around 110Mt/yr, while demand is only 70Mt/yr. Consequently, existing cement makers have trimmed their capacity utilisation to around 65% and are holding on to prices to ensure there are no losses.

"There are expectations of improvements in the sentiment with the new Union Budget proposals for reviving growth, stepping up investments in infrastructure and housing," said Srinivasan. "The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh has also raised hopes for renewed economic activity under the new governments in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana."

India: Wonder Cement, based in Rajasthan, India has placed another order with Germany's Gebr. Pfeiffer SE for the supply of raw meal and coal mills to India. The order was awarded to Gebr. Pfeiffer following positive experiences with identical mills that already operate at Wonder Cement's plant.

Active in the lime and cement industries Wonder Cement is planning to extend its cement plant in Tehsil Nimbahera in the Chittorgarh District. A rotary kiln with a capacity of an approximate 8500t/day will be supplied by the raw mill and coal mill ordered from Gebr. Pfeiffer.

The MPS 5600 B to be installed for the production of 605t/hr of raw meal with a fineness of 1.5% residue on the 212µm sieve will be equipped with a 5600kW drive. The coal mill will be produced on an MPS 3070 BK with a capacity of 40t/hr with a product fineness of 2% residue on the 90µm sieve. Due to the high abrasiveness of Indian coal, the mill will be equipped with adapted wear protection