Vicat Group pumps Rs 300cr to expand capacities in India

French cement giant Vicat Group today said it has invested Rs 300 crore this year to expand cement capacities to meet growing demand in south and eastern parts of the country and launched its Vicat brand in India.

"To meet the overall 5 per cent growth in cement industry, we have major expansion plans in India. We have chalked out Rs 1,700 crore investment plans by 2021 to increase our cement manufacturing capacity to 13 million tonnes (mt), Vicat India CEO Anoop Kumar Saxena told reporters here.

"We have already invested Rs 300 crore this year. Our expansion plan includes setting up of 1.2 mt of bulk cement terminal at Kalamboli in Mumbai and second line of 2.75 mtpa capacity in existing Kalburgi cement plant and establish a grinding unit of 1.7 mtpa capacity at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh to expand our footprint, Saxena said.

The company has an integrated cement plant consisting 2 lines in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. The total capacity of group in India is 7.75 mtpa.

The company has a market share of 10 per cent in Mumbai, 18 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 5 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 14 per cent in Karnataka and 3 per cent in Kerala regions.

In the last 8 years, the company has expanded its markets and now it has operations in 8 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. It has strong network of 3,300 dealers.

The company has also launched brand "Vicat" in India, first outside France. This is flagship brand from France for last several decades in cement. It has launched Vicat Optimate and Vicat Duramate brands in the Mumbai market to meet the demand in construction and infrastructure industry, Saxena said.

During the launch of terminal, Guy Sidos, Vicat Group Chairman said, "India is very important country for our business and investment of Rs 70 crore in this terminal is in line with our commitment to supply best quality of cement. This terminal is having 1.2 mtpa capacity and it can store upto 12,000 tonnes cement at any point of time."