India Cements plan ₹1,400-cr capacity addition

India Cements plans to set up a new integrated cement factory in Madhya Pradesh and a grinding unit near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh at an investment of ₹1,400 crore, said managing director N Srinivasan. The investment is part of the company’s plans to cater to future demand in North and Central India. The expansion will take the total capacity to about 20 million tons in 2-3 years from its current 16 million ton capacity. The move is also expected to make the company a pan-India player. The company hopes to complete the land acquisition process in 3-4 months. It has a mining lease for more than 100 million tons limestone, a key raw material for producing cement, after the acquisition of Springway Mining in Madhya Pradesh last year.