Ambuja Cements gets green nod to expand West Bengal unit, say sources
Informist, Wednesday, Jun 21, 2023
–Sources: Ambuja Cements gets green nod to expand West Bengal unit
–Sources: Ambuja Cements to up clinker unit capacity to 4 mln tn/yr
–Sources: Ambuja Cements needs 4 bln rupees to expand Bengal unit
By Narayana Krishna and Sunil Raghu
HYDERABAD/AHMEDABAD – Ambuja Cements Ltd has received environmental clearance for the proposed expansion of its cement grinding unit in West Bengal, according to two officials familiar with the development.
The expansion will cost the company nearly 4 bln rupees. Ambuja Cements has plans to expand its cement grinding unit at Sankrail in Howrah district of West Bengal to 4 mln tn per annum from 2.4 mln tn per annum currently. The company had applied for environmental clearance last month, according to officials.
The expert appraisal committee of Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has recommended grant of clearance to the project, according to one official.
Despite repeated attempts, an Adani Group spokesperson did not reply to queries on this development.
Ambuja Cements has 32.64 ha of land at Sankrail, with the current plant housed on 18.36 ha and the proposed expansion will need another 14.28 ha. The company has plans to complete construction work to expand Sankrail unit in 18 months of getting the environmental clearance.
The proposed expansion is also part of the larger growth plan chalked out by cement companies of the Adani Group. The cement companies owned by Adani group–Ambuja Cement and ACC Ltd–jointly hold 12-13% share of the installed capacity in the country.
These two companies have 14 integrated units, 16 grinding units, 85 ready-mix concrete plants and more than 78,000 channel partners with a nationwide presence.
The Adani Group has already announced its intent to increase the consolidated cement capacity of Ambuja Cements and ACC to 140 mln tn per annum from the current 67.5 mln tn per annum over the coming five years.
It plans to do so through a mix of greenfield and brownfield expansion plans, for which it will invest nearly 70 bln rupees in the coming two years. This expense will be funded primarily through internal accruals. As on Mar 31, the company had cash and cash equivalent of 115.3 bln rupees.
The capital expenditure mainly includes brownfield capacity expansion of grinding units at Sankrail and Farakka in West Bengal and Bhatinda in Punjab by up to 2 mln tn per annum each and the setting up greenfield projects at Kharagpur in West Bengal, Hoshiyarpur in Punjab and Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh of 2 mln tn per annum at each location.
It also hopes to expand existing clinker units at Chandrapur and Bhatapara by 4 mln tn per annum and set up two new units at Mundra and Ametha of 3.75 mln tn per annum and 3.3 mln tn per annum capacities, respectively.
Last month, Ambuja Cements had placed orders to expand its clinker capacity at Bhatapara in Chhatisgarh and Maratha unit in Maharashtra.
Today, shares of Ambuja Cements ended 0.2% lower at 448.10 rupees on the National Stock Exchange. End
