ACC to use the amount to complete expansion plans at Jamul in Chattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand
Cement maker ACC Ltd will spend about Rs.600 crore in 2016-17 to complete its cement capacity expansion plans.
“The planned capital expenditure for 2016 is about Rs.600 crore to be used to complete the expansion plans at Jamul (in Chattisgarh) and Sindri (in Jharkhand),” Harish Badami, chief executive officer and managing director for ACC said at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday.
ACC is building two cement units at Jamul and Sindri with a combined capacity of 2.4 million tonne. The plants once complete is likely to take the company’s total capacity to 33.42 million tonne.
“These plants will go on stream in the next few months,” Badami said while talking on the sidelines of the AGM. The company has no plans to add fresh capacity.
Badami added there is enough capacity where utilization levels can be improved. For 2015, ACC’s overall capacity utilization was at 77%. The company expects cement prices to improve as demand growth is projected to touch 6% in 2016 from 2% in 2015.
“2015 was most challenging in terms of demand growth, excess capacity and declining prices. Forecasts for India’s GDP growth in 2016 and in the short term are of the order of 7 to 8%. There can be no doubt that this growth necessitates urban transformation, major advancements in infrastructure, connectivity, housing and sanitation,” Badami said at the AGM, adding that he expects cement demand to grow in line with the GDP in the next 3-5 years
