Cement, Energy and Environment

JAYPEE GROUP CLOSE TO SELL U.P. CEMENT UNIT TO HEIDELBERG After having divested its cement plants in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh , Haryana (Panipat) and Jharkhand (Bokaro) to raise around Rs 10,000 crore, debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates is now close to selling another plant- at Sikandarabad in Uttar Pradesh - to German major Heidelberg Cement for around Rs 500 crore. "Heidelberg is in advanced stages of negotiations with JP Associates to buy the 1 million tonne per annum Sikandarabad cement unit for around Rs 500 crore ," an industry source aware of the development told FE. In fact, sources said that the JP Group is also looking at selling two more of its cement units - Baga and Bagheri in Himachal Pradesh and Balaji in Andhra Pradesh - but the matter is stuck due to valuation issues. Aditya Birla Group's Ultratech Cement and Heidelberg have been in talks for acquiring these units. Courtesy: Industrial Angles 36 1 h e-news letter LAFARGE INDIA LIKELY TO SELL CEMENT PLANTS IN JOJOBERA AND SONADIH Cement companies such as Heidelberg Cement India Ltd and CRH Pic, which have a low market share in eastern India, are among those keen to pick up assets likely to be put on the block by Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd. While clearing the merger between Holcim and Lafarge, CCI asked them to sell some assets in eastern India to eliminate anti-competition concerns. The competition regulator, however, introduced a clause saying that only cement companies with less than 5% market share in the relevant market can buy these two cement assets-Sonadih cement plant and Jojobera grinding station-which are to be put up for sale·: Highlighting that the cement industry in India is prone to collusion, CCI said Lafarge-Holcim should sell their assets "to relatively smaller players, having installed capacity of less than 5% of the total installed capacity in the relevant geographic market". Courtesy: Industrial Angles 36 1 h e-news letter Environmental Protection & Resource Management Climate Change & Global Warming INDIA MAY BE HOTTER BY 8 DEGREES, LOSE $200BN PER YEAR: STUDY Global warming is at a much faster pace than estimated. The visible impact would be temperature crossing 50-degree mark by the turn of the century and water stress in the northern part of India, a new global study released on Monday in London and Mumbai said. Climate change could cost India US $200 billion per annum if it fails to ensure adequate adaptation measures and the countries fail to reduce their carbon emissions, the study - Climate Change: A Risk Assessment- conducted by climate advisors to the governments in United States, United Kingdom and China, the world's biggest carbon emitters, said. They analysed data from across the world to arrive at the conclusions. "The water stress will increase in coming years and will have implications on India's food security," said Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive officer of Council on Energy, Environment and Water, the Indian partner for the study funded by UK foreign office. The authors have clearly outlined the northern part of India, including Delhi, Chandigarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, as high impact zone of climate change in India. In the report, they said, said high heat stress can have various implications, including restrictions on outdoor work and sports and not getting sound sleep. Different scenarios presented in the report say the temperature could rise 8 degrees Celsius, crossing the 50-degree mark in cities like Delhi, Jaipur and Chandigarh during summer. The study reiterated the fact that extreme rainfall will increase in India and sounded an alarm that frequency of floods will increase in the Gangetic plains. Its implication will be on India's food security with an estimated loss of up to US $200 billion per year by the turn of this century. This is in tune with the assessment made by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The report for the fi rst time also showed internal security risks arising because of climate change. It is well documented that a reason for rise of IS in was back to back droughts and food crises, the study said. Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, July 14, 2015 12 '•