 "Naveen Jindal group to invest Rs 2,160 crore to scale up cement production")
The Naveen Jindal group’s Jindal Panther Cement on Tuesday said it will invest Rs 2,160 crore to scale up production capacity to 7 million tonne per annum (mtpa).
The company will set up a cement grinding unit of 1.5 mtpa capacity in Angul, Odisha, setting the stage for further expansion. The unit will use around 1 mtpa of blast furnace slag from Jindal Steel & Power’s integrated steel plant in Angul. Slag is a by-product in steelmaking and a raw material used in cement manufacturing. The 7 mtpa capacity addition is likely to happen over some four years.
The group has a 1 mtpa cement unit in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, at the Jindal Steel & Power facility. Cement from the Raigarh unit is sold under the Jindal Panther brand.
The expansion to 7 mtpa – across Angul and Raigarh – would strengthen the group’s presence in the cement industry and provide sustainable construction materials to support growing infrastructure needs in the region, it said in a statement.
The move is in line with the strategy of becoming a “one-stop shop” for homebuilders whereby Panther’s cement and Steel & Power’s rebar would be jointly marketed via a common distribution system under the “Jindal Panther” brand.
“The commissioning of our Angul grinding unit marks a significant step in our journey towards a sustainable future. Our low-carbon cement and innovative distribution model position us uniquely to support eastern India’s infrastructure growth while contributing to a greener planet,” said Rohit Vohra, chief executive officer of Jindal Panther Cement.
Separately, Ambuja Cements, which is owned by the Adani family, on Tuesday announced signing a binding agreement to acquire 46.8 per cent stake in Orient Cement Ltd for Rs 8,100 crore.