ACC puts on hold Rs 600 cr expansion plan

ACC, the country's largest cement maker, has indefinitely put on hold the Rs 600-crore expansion programme of its ready-mix concrete business due to poor demand in the domestic market.

"We have completely put on hold our capacity enhancement for an indefinite period. Due to credit crunch, demand from developers have fallen drastically," ACC Concrete Chief Executive Officer Hans Fuchs told PTI.

Besides, the company, which currently has 650 employees, had laid off 165 people from its pay-roll last month.

The demand for ready-mix concrete (RMC), which is primarily used by developers in residential projects, has been constantly falling owing to decline in sales in property market and non-availability of lending for the realty players, he added.

Asked about the size of the investment for expansion, Fuchs said: "ACC Concrete, the RMC business of ACC, had planned to invest Rs 600 crore to add 200 plants across the country by 2012."

"We will increase our number of plants to 40 in this month from the current 32 and will stop expanding after this."

When asked if the company had planned to fire more people as part of cost cutting measures, Fuchs said, "We keep restructuring constantly, but I do not see any further change in the organisation immediately."

The company's parent in India -- ACC -- has also temporarily stopped hiring new employees.

However, ACC is going ahead with its planned expansion programme of increasing the capacity to 30 million tonnes by 2010 from the current about 23.5 million tonnes with addition of three plants in the country.