Displaying items by tag: India
India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned its third clinker line at Aditya Cement (AC), Shambhupura in Rajasthan. The plant, which has a 6000t/day kiln and a clinker capacity of 2Mt/yr, can use a wide variety of fuels.
Meanwhile, its greenfield grinding plant in Jhajjar, Haryana is likely to be commissioned in 2016. "With this commissioning, UltraTech Cement will further increase its capacity in the north region," said UltraTech in a statement. "Further, the new grinding plant coming up in Jhajjar will assist us in capturing the growing demand for cement in this region with timely and effective supplies to the customers."
Commercial coal mining to be allowed
16 March 2015India: In the first major step towards opening the coal mining sector, India's government will start allocating coal blocks to state governments for commercial mining. The move, which is expected to be undertaken in April 2015, will put an end to the 41-year-old monopoly over the commercial sale of coal.
The coal ministry will allot non-operational mines to state governments for commercial coal mining for end use in the iron, steel, cement and allied sectors. This will bring business and revenue to coal-rich states, which have so far only received royalties from private companies mining coal for captive use.
"Non-operational mines will be allotted to state governments to extract coal for commercial usage and market sale. States could then sell this coal to the utilities under their umbrella or any private company for various end uses, as specified in the ordinance," said a senior official. This is pursuant to an enabling provision on commercial mining and sale of coal in the coal ordinance (special provisions), 2014. The coal ministry will also issue guidelines for the appointment of mining development operators (MDOs) by states.
The coal ordinance has inserted section 3A in the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act to enable joint ventures by central and state governments and their companies and any other company, for mining operations in India 'in any form, either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose,' in accordance with a licence granted by the state government concerned.
India: Jaypee Group is reportedly in talks with HeidelbergCement and JSW Cement to form a joint venture that will control the majority of its cement plants. The plan envisages a separate joint venture entity that will house around 20 – 22Mt/yr of Jaypee's operational plants in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The venture may exclude Jaypee's first cement plant in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, which has approximately 3Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
Reliance Infrastructure might sell Reliance Cement
13 March 2015India: Reliance Infrastructure, part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, has decided to sell its cement business, Reliance Cement, to fund the acquisition of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering, which it is acquiring for US$331m.
Reliance Cement is in talks with HeidelbergCement and Italcementi and has offered a 50% stake in the company. The prospective joint venture partner will also fund the company's cement capacity expansion, which is estimated to rise to 15Mt/yr by 2018. Details of the valuation of the possible deal are unknown. HeidelbergCement has operations in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh and Ammasandra in Karnataka. Italcementi is active in India via Zuari Cement.
Reliance Cement has a 5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. As part of its expansion plan, it is setting up another 5Mt/yr plant in Maharashtra, which is set to be operational by 2017. It is also planning another 5Mt/yr of capacity to be operational by 2018, via a second line in Madhya Pradesh, a new plant in Karnataka or a new plant in Rajasthan.
India: The Indian government has published a list of 36 companies committed to supplying 9.5Mt of cement in 2015 for road building. The cement will be sold at a price below market rates with a fixed upper limit of US$2.70/bag. The Ministry has decided to build concrete cement roads in place of traditional bitumen roads as it views them as cost-effective and requiring less maintenance.
"After taking consent of the manufacturers we have put the list on a dedicated website, which any company or government agency can access to book their orders. Since the factories are spread all over the country, they can make the best choice. As per the contract, manufacturers can only reduce the price and increase their commitment to supply more cement," said road transport minister Nitin Gadkari. "Once the reduced price is out, it will have effect on other manufacturers and prices across companies may fall," he added.
Five new cement plants due for Jaipur
09 March 2015India: Five new cement plants will be set up in Jaipur with an estimated investment of US$1.59bn. The mines department has issued a letter of intent (LOI) to the companies and submitted the application for approval from the Union government.
Three LOI have been given for blocks at Chittorgarh, while two are issued for the blocks in Jaisalmer. The proposals of all the five blocks have been sent to Geological Survey of India (GSI). After receiving approval from them, all companies will be allowed to start their plants.
"There are a total of four LOI that have been given, while one company has been given the old block after orders from the court. It is now up to the Union government to decide. Once permissions are granted, all of the companies can work at their identified places," said an official from the mines department.
According to the officials, nearly US$1.59bn will be invested in the plants, generating employment for more than 5000 people. The state government will receive royalty from the blocks leased for mining. Meanwhile, total production capacity of the new plants is likely to be nearly 3Mt/yr. "The investments will be US$1.44 - 1.59bn. The department will get US$5.59m per plant as royalty," added the official.
India: AA Energy has commissioned a 120t/day grinding plant at Wadsa, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. The estimated cost of the project is US$8.88m. The cement produced will be used for captive consumption for AA Energy's asbestos sheet plant in Nagpur. AA Energy has also abandoned an expansion of its biomass power plant in the same location due to non-receipt of a No Objection Certificate from the Pollution Control Board.
India: Jaiprakash Associates is planning an integrated cement plant project in Dalla, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh. The project includes a 2.20Mt/yr clinker plant and a 1.50Mt/yr grinding plant. The site currently has a 2Mt/yr clinker plant, a 500,000t/yr grinding plant, a 27MW power plant and six captive limestone mines. The project is waiting for environmental clearance.
Rain Cement to develop 7MW waste heat recovery system
03 March 2015India: The board of directors of Rain Commodities Ltd has given the go ahead to a proposal to develop a 7MW waste heat recovery (WHR) system at Rain Cement's plant in Boincheruvupalli Village, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh.
The power plant will produce up to 7MW of gross electrical energy from the waste heat and flue gases produced during the cement manufacturing process at a project cost of US$11.3m. The project that will be funded by internal accruals and bank loans and is expected to be completed in about 14 months.
Shree Cement commissions cement plant in Chhattisgarh
02 March 2015India: Shree Cement has commissioned a 2.6Mt/yr capacity grinding plant at Baloda Bazar near Raipur, Chhattisgarh.