JK Lakshmi Cement has announced plans to invest INR80,000m (US$972m) over a six-year period to increase its cement production capacity to 30Mta. According to Business Line, the investment will be made between 2024 and 2030 to raise capacity primarily through expansions and acquisitions.
The company has already begun to acquire land for greenfield opportunities at Nagaur (Rajasthan) in north India and Kutch (Gujarat) in west India. It is also currently expanding capacity at its subsidiary, Udaipur Cement Works, adding cement capacity of 2.5Mta and clinker capacity of 1.5Mta, with an estimated capex of INR16,500m.
“So the plan is to exit FY24 with an installed capacity of 18Mta, which includes expanding Udaipur unit by 2.5Mta. Then we ramp up to 30Mta by 2030,” according to the company. Cement demand in India is expected to improve by 7-8 per cent in FY24 on the back of a boom in housing and infrastructure construction activities. Following the expansion, JK Lakshmi will be among the top 10 cement producers in India.
