Birla Corporation to increase cement capacity to 25 mt by 2025

Birla Corporation Limited, the flagship company of the M P Birla Group, plans to scale up its cement capacity to 25 million tonne per annum (mtpa) by 2025 with a total investment of around Rs 5,000 crore, an official said on Tuesday.

The existing cement production capacity of 15.5 mtpa will be expanded to 25 mtpa between its own factories and those acquired from Reliance Cement, the company's Non- Executive Chairman Harsh Lodha told reporters after the annual general meeting here.

He said that the cement maker would initially invest around Rs 2,450 crore for increasing its present capacity to 19.5 mtpa in the first phase of expansion.

"This expansion is expected to be completed by April 2021. Another Rs 250 crore will be spent on increasing the grinding capacity from 2.4 mtpa to 3.6 mtpa at its plant near Lucknow", Lodha said.

He said the company was also mulling to set up a new grinding unit somewhere in the west or north India.

"Total capex for the first phase will be around Rs 2,700 crore to Rs 2,800 crore", he said.

In the second phase of expansion, there is a plan to set up a new unit in Bihar where the market is expanding rapidly, he said.

Lodha said the company is also planning a second line at its Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh, which will increase the capacity to 25 mtpa.

"The phase 2 expansion will require an investment of Rs 2,200 crore, and is expected to be completed by 2025", he said.

The cement producer is looking at a growth in the cement business, Lodha added.