Jaypee`s cement plant to produce from April 2009

Also, it has plans to raise the capacity by 1.5 million tonnes per annum with an investment of Rs 700 crore by 2010.

Further, the company has signed MoU with the Himachal Pradesh government for setting up a 2 million tonne per annum cement plant (Phase-I) with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore in Chamba district recently. It also plans to set up a grinding unit in Pathankot (Punjab).

Speaking to Business Standard, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd President Rajiv Gaur, said, "We are hopeful that the new unit with its manufacturing capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum of cement would be operational by April 2009.

Further we are going to increase the capacity of the plant by 1.5 million tonnes per annum on which work would be started by third quarter of this calendar year and likley to be completed by 2010. Post expansion, the capacity of the plant would touch 4.5 million tonnes per annum."

Besides the company also plans to set up a new split unit in Madhya Pradesh and Bokaro in association with SAIL, and also a cement plant in Uttar Pradesh with a manufacturing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum.

The company has plans to raise the cement production capacity from 7 million tonnes per annum (present capacity) to 25 million tonnes per annum by 2012.

Also, Jaiprakash Power Venture Ltd, a group company is also planning to raise Rs 4,000 crore through IPO likely to hit the capital market this year.

Further, Jaypee Group is constructing Karcham Wangtoo Hydro Electric Project (1,000 Mw) with a project cost of appoximately Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. The project is expected to be commissioned by 2011. This would be the largest hydro power station in the private sector.

Meanwhile, the company inaugurated the municipal solid waste processing plant in Chandigarh. The plant, a public-private initiative between Jaiprakash Associates Ltd and the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, has been completed in a stipulated time. The plant would be operational after about three months, when the process stabilises.

Set up over 10 acres at a cost of Rs 30 crore, the plant, which is one of its kind in northern India, has the installed capacity to process 500 tonnes per day of municipal solid waste, which will be converted into refuse-derived fuel to be used in a thermal power plant in Ropar and a cement plant of Jaypee Group in Himachal Pradesh.

The project shall also help in conservation of fossil fuels, enhance country's energy security, prevent ground water contamination due to leakage of leachate, stop open dumping, enhance the city's aesthetics and overall hygiene of the area in and around the landfill sites. The company is also looking for a similar kind of project in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh).

Besides its industrial investment the group has been involved in the social development of the state by way of its educational initiatives comprising of the Jaypee University of Information Technology(JUIT) at Solan and the Jaypee Indusrial Training Centre at Samirpur through the Jaiprakash Sewa Sansthan