Displaying items by tag: Jharkhand
India: The East Singhbhum district administration has asked for guidelines from the government of Jharkhand regarding the purchase of the Jojobera cement plant by Nirma from Lafarge India. There are no provisions for transfers of leased land to any third party without the prior approval of the state government with relation to agreements struck by Tata Steel, the plants previous owner, said East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Amit Kumar to the Hindustan Times.
"We are seeking state government's guideline on action to be taken over the reported transfer of management and bank accounts of Jojobera Plant here by Lafarge Holcim to Nirma Limited even though they are yet to respond to our notices from July 2016," said Kumar.
Lafarge India has said that the transfer of management and accounts for the Jojobera plant was completed on 6 -7 October 2016 following approval by the Competition Commission of India for the sale. It agreed to sell five cement plants to Nirma for US$1.4bn in July 2016.
ACC cement grinding plant in Jharkhand to start in November 2016
11 October 2016India: ACC has said that its new cement grinding plant at Sindri, Jharkhand will become operational in November 2016. This follows the start of commercial production of a new clinker production line at its plant at Jamul, Chhattisgarh in July 2016 and the start of that site’s grinding plant on 14 September 2016.
ACC to expand Jamul and Sindri plants
30 August 2016India: ACC plans to expand its plants at Jamul in Chhattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand as part of a US$447m capital project intended to increase the company's production capacity by 5Mt/yr to 35Mt/yr. The project will also include building a ‘couple of new plants’ according to comments made by KN Rao, Director - Energy and Environment, to the Hindu newspaper. Following the upgrades the Jmaul cement plant will have a clinker capacity of 2.79Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of 1.1Mt/yr. The Sindri unit will have a grinding capacity of 1.35Mt/yr.
India: Bokaro district officials in the state of Jharkhand will support the construction of a 1.5Mt/yr cement plant by UltraTech Cement in the Bokaro Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA). UltraTech will be the second cement producer to build a plant in the BIADA region following Dalmia Cement. Local officials have met UltraTech staff to discuss infrastructure connections, the availability of slag and other raw materials and environmental clearance, according to the Times of India.
India: ACC has started commercial production at its 2.79Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Jamul, Chhattisgarh. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim also has two new cement grinding plants, one at Jamul and one at Sindri in Jharkhand. These are expected to be commissioned by the end of September 2016. The projects are planned to strengthen the cement producer’s consumer base in east India.
Shree Cement completes upgrade in Rajasthan and announces plans to build grinding plant in Jharkhand
20 July 2016India: Shree Cement has completed the upgrade of a preheater on the clinker production line of Unit-I at its Beawar cement plant in Rajasthan. The clinker production capacity of the plant has now increased to 1.4Mt/yr from 1.1Mt/yr.
Meanwhile the cement producer has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Jharkhand to build a 2Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Sarai Kale Karasawa. The plant will have an investment cost of US$73m.
Four workers injured at ACC cement plant in Sindri
18 July 2016India: Four contract workers have been injured by an explosion at an ACC cement plant in Sindri, Jharkhand. Sindri deputy superintendent of police Vikash Kumar Pandey told the Hindustan Times that a cylinder in the fine coal crusher plant exploded, probably due to extra pressure generated by the hot air generator attached to the crusher. The injured workers have been taken to Bokaro General Hospital where their conditions are said to be critical. ACC has stopped production at the plant to conduct a internal inquiry into the incident.
India: Officials in Jharkhand have said that the recently announced sale of Lafarge India to Nirma will require state approval to transfer land at the Jojobera cement plant. The East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Amit Kumar, has been asked to calculate the revenue that the government stands to gain from such land transfer and its registry, according to the Hindustan Times. Previously, the district administration served a notice to Lafarge India on 10 October 2015 when Lafarge India was in talks with Birla Corporation regarding the sale of some of the same assets.
"It's mandatory to seek state government's prior approval for third-party transfer of leased land, in this case leased to Tata Steel. The district administration had informed this to the company, requesting it to seek government's approval," said KK Sone, the state land and revenue secretary. "It has to comply with the administration's notice. Any violation would draw administrative, civil as well as criminal actions."
The Jojobera plant was built on government land leased to Tata Steel. Tata Steel then signed a business transfer agreement for its Jojobera plant with Lafarge India in March 1999.
Hear Nirma roar!
13 July 2016Another week and another massive Indian cement industry deal. This week Nirma has won the bidding for the assets of Lafarge India that LafargeHolcim is selling. Before we get too carried away though, the diversified conglomerate entered into a letter agreement with LafargeHolcim on 7 July 2016 to pay US$1.4bn for three cement plants and two grinding plants with a total cement production capacity of 11Mt/yr.
It is worth noting that this is only a letter agreement. LafargeHolcim signed one previously with Birla Corporation for some of the same assets in August 2015. Unfortunately, an ambiguous amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act struck in January 2015 made it unclear how easily mineral rights could be transferred with an industrial plant sale. After much likely internal squabbling Lafarge India said it was selling all of its assets in January 2016 followed by threats of legal action by Birla.
Some commentators in the Indian media have flagged the new deal as expensive for Nirma. It will be paying US$127/t for the new capacity compared to the US$118/t that UltraTech Cement is offering Jaiprakash Associates for its laboured deal. The Nirma deal comprises integrated cement plants at Sonadih in Chattisgarh, Arasmeta in Chattisgarh and Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, and cement grinding plants at Jojobera in Jharkhand and Mejia, West Bengal. Other assets include 63 ready mix concrete plants, two aggregate plants and a blending unit.
However, unlike UltraTech, Nirma is a relatively new entrant in the cement industry. Its main industries are in detergents and soda ash manufacture. It invested US$194m in a 2.28Mt/yr cement plant in Rajasthan that was commissioned in November 2014. It also ran into environmental issues over a proposal to build a new cement plant at Mahuva in Gujarat. One report compiled under request by the Indian Supreme Court in 2011 cited the presence of Asiatic lions as a reason for concern!
Lions aside, Nirma may be paying over the odds for its new cement business but it will gain a bigger presence in the industry quickly and diversify from its other existing industries in which it faces fierce competition. The Lafarge India plants are mostly in eastern Indian states compared to Nirma’s plant in Rajasthan in the west, giving it a reasonable geographic spread.
Nirma reportedly plans to finance the purchase through a leveraged buyout and the Mint business newspaper has described this as the largest transaction of its kind in India to date. The risk here will be how the Indian cement market plays out in the short term. LafargeHolcim reported that its cement volumes fell in 2015, although this has since picked up in the first half of 2016. UltraTech did better in its 2015 – 2016 financial year but it reported a slow construction market. Longer-term demographic trends suggest that the cement industry will grow, especially in the east of the country. With this in mind it may be a while before Nirma’s cement business roars.
Sangharsh Morcha MLA fights for cement plant to re-open
12 January 2015India: Navjawan Sangharsh Morcha MLA and former minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi have urged the Jharkhand Government to initiate steps to re-open the Japla cement plant in Palamau, which was closed several years ago. Sahi said that the Government should also take steps to re-open the Bhavnathpur power plant. He added that the Government should outline funds in the main budget in March 2015 for its development, including water availability.