Cement demand in east to grow by 8-10pc in FY20

Cement demand in the eastern region of the country is expected to grow by 8-10 per cent in the current fiscal despite slowdown in the economy, industry insiders said on Friday.

Demand for the construction material in the eastern part of the country will continue to be better compared to pan-India scenario in the current fiscal, according to a rating agency report.

Growth in cement demand in India is expected to be lower at seven per cent in the current fiscal, down from double-digit rise in the previous year, owing to slowdown in the economy, the report said.

"Cement demand growth during Q1 (April-June 2019) in the east was 15-16 per cent but since then it has tapered off. However, we expect strong demand in Q4 and hope to end the year with 8-10 per cent growth," JSW Cement head (east) Gautam Mukhopadhayay told PTI on the sidelines of a seminar organised by ICC.

Speaking about JSW Cement, he said the company will continue to go ahead with its expansion plans but in line with demand situation.

"Currently, cement capacity of the company in the east is 3.6 million tonne per annum and the same will be doubled in phases over the next 3 years," Mukhopadhayay said.

The capacity ramp up will be at manufacturing units at Salboni, West Bengal where the company will add 2.4 mtpa, Jajpur, Odisha facility with an addition of 1.8 mtpa along with one mtpa capacity addition at Shiva Cement, the company said earlier.

The steel-to-cement major will make additional capital expenditure of about Rs 250-300 crore to enhance the proposed capacity in the eastern region, he said.

The manufacturing capacity of JSW Cement is currently at 14 mtpa.

It is aiming at nearly doubling its production capacity to 25 million tonnes per annum by 2023 by investing around Rs 2,875 crore.