Cement, Energy and Environment

GREEN FIELD PLANTS & EXPANSION ANJANI PORTLAND CEMENT TO INVEST RS.350 CR IN NEW PLANT Anjani Portland Cement Ltd is investing Rs. 350 crore on a cement plant in Karnataka through a wholly owned subsidiary. "The work on our subsidiary, Anjani Cement Karnataka Ltd, has already begun near Bijapur in Karnataka," Mr. K.V. Vishnu Raju, Chairman and Managing Director, Anjani Portland Cement Ltd, told Business Line. The proposed plant wou ld have an annual capacity of one million tonnes and is expected to go on stream by end of 2012. The Hyderabad-based company will mobilize the required funds from internal accruals and debt. "After commissioning of Anjani Cement Karnataka, our total cement production capacity will go up to 2.2 million tonnes per annum from the existing 1.2 million tonnes," Mr. Raju said . Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, Hyderabad, 16.12.2010. BINANI CEMENT TO INVEST RS.4200 CR IN GUJARAT Binani Cement, part of Braj Binani Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat Government to set up a greenfield cement plant of 2.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), a 610 MW thermal power plant and a jetty to handle cargos with a cumulative investment of Rs. 4,200 crore. In 2009, the company had signed an agreement to set up 2.5 Mtpa cement plant with an investment Rs . 800 crore. The proposed cement plant will come up on 188 hectares at Lodhva village of Junagadh. The plant will manufacture Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC) in various grades. The cement plant will be located near rich limestone deposits and will ensure a steady supply of raw material, the company said in a press release. Further, the association of Binani Cement with the Gujarat Government will help develop the region in terms of employment generation and overall standard of living, it added. The company signed an agreement with the Department of Mines and Geology to set up the cement plant. With the additional plant, the total greenfield cement plant capacity proposed will be 5 Mtpa. Further, the company has signed an MoU with the Gujarat Department of Energy and Petrochemicals to set up a 610 MW thermal power plant to be completed in three phases. A captive jetty capable of handling cargos of 10 Mtpa will also be built in three phases of 1 Mtpa, 2.5 Mtpa and 6.5 Mtpa. Binani Cement has proposed to tap the UAE, Mauritius and East African markets from Gujarat. Shares of the company on BSE were up 0.11 per cent at Rs.87 on 13.1.2011 . Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line Mumbai, 14.01.2011. BIRLA CORP CEMENT VENTURE IN ASSAM Birla Corporation is setting up a Rs. 450-crore cement manufacturing plant in the North Cachar Hills district of Assam. The project would be through a joint venture with the Assam Mineral Development Corporation . A company note said that the entity will have an equity base of Rs 150 crore, of which Birla Corporation would provide 87.5 per cent; the balance 12.5 per cent would come from the Assam outfit. The two entities formally signed an MoU for the proposed venture in Guwahati, on 13.1. 2011 . Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line Ko/kata, 15.1.2011. CEMEX-MURLI DEAL MAY FLOP ON VALUATION, SEBI GLARE Mexcian cement maker Cemex's India entry plans have hit a roadblock again due to the higher valuation being sought by Murli Industries and the order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on insider trading, according to two sources close to the development. Murli has an existing capacity of 3 million tonne per annum (Mtpa) at Chandrapur in Maharashtra and limestone reserves for the same, which it has been looking to sell off. It was in talks with Ambuja Cements and ltalicementi for sale of the assets before Cemex entered the scene. "Earlier, Murli was in talks with Ambuja. It was asking for $250 per tonne and after the third round of discussions, Ambuja walked away. Later, ltalicementi did due diligence, but nothing worked out. Finally, they have been talking to Cemex. Murli has already rejected what Cemex has offered in the last four rounds of talks, so it is unlikely Cemex will take this deal seriously. Nothing is happening 12