An Indian Ministry of Environment & Forests panel has approved Ambuja Cements Ltd.’s proposed  cement plant in the north-western state of Rajasthan.

Ambuja Cements, which is a unit of Holcim, plans to set up a factory with a production capacity of 4.5Mta.

The environment panel said that Ambuja will have to spend 5% of the total project cost on community development in the area.