
Displaying items by tag: India
UltraTech Cement plans US$415m plant in Tamil Nadu
10 July 2013India: UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is working on environmental clearance for a new US$415m cement plant in Tamil Nadu, according to Indian media. The project will have a cement production capacity of 5.5Mt/yr, a clinker production capacity of 4.5Mt/yr, a 75MW captive power plant (with additional power from diesel generating sets of about 18MW) and a 15MW waste heat recovery facility.
The public hearing for the project was conducted in May 2013 as part of the environment impact assessment and management plan. The plant is intended to two have two production lines. The total project area is about 263 hectares with a plant area of about 86 hectares.
UltraTech is one of the largest cement producers in India with a total capacity of around 52Mt/yr.
Trade union leader to fast for cement worker rights
10 July 2013India: Chandrashekhar Hiremath, trade union leader and president of the Shramajeevigala Vedike, will begin an indefinite fast from 15 July 2013 on behalf of worker rights at cement plants in Gulbarga and Koppal districts of Karnataka state. According to The Hindu newspaper, Hiremath is demanding that cement plants keep their word on payment of wages to over 8500 contract labourers at four major plants.
At a press conference Hiremath said that Vasavadatta Cements, Rajashree (Ultratech) Cements, Chettinad Cements and Ultratech Cements had failed to follow an agreement made in 2011 stating that they would regularise contract labourers and bring them under the cement wage board. Currently, contract labourers are paid a wage of US$65-180/month. Yet under the wage board they would gain a minimum wage of US$256/month at the four cement plants.
Shiva Cement plans US$45m upgrade
10 July 2013India: Shiva Cement is planning to upgrade its cement production capacity to 1Mt/yr with an investment of US$45m. The cement producer currently has a capacity of 0.13Mt/yr at Rourkela in Odisha. The company has an agreement with ACC, who holds a 13% stake in Shiva Cement, to sell its entire production.
"Since we have the requisite land at our existing facility and all the approvals are in place, we expect the project to be completed by the first half 2015," said RP Gupta, chairman and managing director of Shiva Cement. In a second phase the company plans to further increase its capacity to 2Mt/yr.
India: Competition regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its approval to the proposed 14% stake sale by Lafarge of its subsidiary Lafarge India to Baring Private Equity Asia, saying that the deal will not adversely effect competition in the country.
"The combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India and therefore, the Commission hereby approves the combination under... the (Competition) Act," said the CCI in its order on 26 June 2013.
According to the regulator the deal will not cause adverse competition concerns as neither Paris Cement nor Baring or any of its portfolio companies is engaged in the business of manufacturing cement in India. Lafarge and Baring entered their sale agreement on 14 May 2013, which stated that certain actions of Lafarge India cannot be taken without the prior written consent of Paris Cement Investment Holdings.
Sagar Cements plans US$20m railway line
26 June 2013India: Sagar Cements has prepared a US$20m plan to build a 7km-long railway line connecting its cement plant at Matampally in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh. Executive Director Sreekanth Reddy said that the proposed line is expected to be complete by 2015 and dispatches by rail are expected to rise by 20% subsequently.
In Sagar Cement's last financial year, which ended on 31 March 2013, it dispatched 1.55Mt of which 39,500t were transported by rail. Sales of Sagar's products outside Andhra Pradesh have been steadily increasing and accounted for 46% of total sales in the last financial year, according to an official spokesperson.
Shree Cement starts clinker production at Ras
26 June 2013India: Shree Cement started clinker production at its Bangur City, Ras unit in Pali District in state of Rajasthan on 20 June 2013. The plant has a production capacity of 6000t/day. Shree Cement has eight cement plants in Rajasthan and one grinding unit in Uttrakhand, with a production capacity of 9Mt/yr.
India: HeidelbergCement India sold a grinding plant in Raigad, Maharashtra to JSW Ispat Steel for an undisclosed sum. The announcement was made at the Indian cement producer's annual general meeting on 16 May 2013.
HeidelbergCement India also announced that its shareholders have given it approval for raising funds of up to US$340m through borrowings.
Indian firms get a week more to pay fines
13 June 2013India: The Indian Supreme Court (SC) today refused to give interim relief to cement manufacturers in their appeal against the interim penalty imposed on them on charges of forming a cartel, confirmed for now by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT). It did, however, delay the deadline for the penalty by over a week.
The CAT had told the companies to pay 10% of the total US$1.1bn penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by 16 June 2013 and it posted their main appeal for August 2013. The manufacturers appealed against this to the SC. Now the deadline for payment has been moved from Sunday 16 June 2013 until Monday 24 June 2013. However, the court insisted on their complying with the CAT's interim order.
The order was imposed by CCI against 11 major cement producers including ACC, UltraTech and Ambuja and their association. The apex court refused to lift the penalty order or reduce the rate, despite long arguments over two days by senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi for UltraTech Cement and Ranjit Kumar for Jaiprakash Associates. According to the modified order, the amounts shall be deposited with the tribunal and kept in a separate fixed deposit with a nationalised bank. The deposit shall be renewable after six months. The amounts deposited, with interest, shall be dealt with by the tribunal at the time of the disposal of the appeals of the cement companies.
The case was originally filed by the Builders Association of India before the CCI, alleging cartelisation by the cement companies. The director general (investigation) of the CCI found evidence of formation of a cartel by the cement companies, with capacity utilisation held down to control prices. The penalty was calculated on the basis of the annual turnover of the companies in question over a certain period.
Indian firms cartel appeal heard
12 June 2013India: On 11 June 2013 the Supreme Court admitted the appeals of several cement manufacturers against a Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) order, which directed the cement companies to pay a penalty for allegedly forming a cartel. The case is scheduled to come up towards the end of the week ending 14 June 2013 after the reply of the Builders Association of India (BAI).
The cement companies argued that the penalty, fixed ad hoc at the rate of 10% of their worth, was huge and unjustified. If the firms do not pay the penalties, their appeal case (before CAT) will be automatically dismissed, according to the CAT order.
UltraTech Cement Ltd, argued that CCI did not find any prima facie case against the 11 companies picked by the association out of 42 major cement manufacturers but still the CAT imposed a penalty in an interim order. The deadline for payment of the penalties is 16 June 2013.
Among the cement manufacturers that have appealed to the Supreme Court against the CAT order are Jaiprakash Associates, Century Textiles & Industries and Madras Cements.
FLSmidth to supply cement plant in India
05 June 2013India: The Danish cement plant supplier FLSmidth has reported that it has received an order worth around US$35.5m from the Indian cement manufacturer Orient Cement Limited for the supply of main equipment for a greenfield cement plant to be located in the state of Karnataka in southern India. The plant will have a capacity of 6000t/day. The order will be booked by the Cement division and contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until the end of 2014.
The order covers engineering and supply of main equipment from limestone crusher to packing plant. Included in the scope of supply are key components for raw material crushing equipment, limestone, coal and additive stores, raw material grinding system using roller press technology, vertical mill for coal grinding, ILC pyro processing system with Cross-Bar Cooler, two vertical mills for cement grinding as well as packing and loading system for trucks and rail wagons.
"Orient Cement is a well-known customer to FLSmidth. In 2007, we supplied the company with a pyro-processing system with a capacity of 4000t/day for a brownfield project. This new order from Orient Cement is based on a close and successful customer relationship and is furthermore a good example of FLSmidth's leading position in the Indian cement market," said Group Executive Vice President Per Mejnert Kristensen.