Dalmia Bharat pauses Jaisalmer plans, awaits Jaiprakash Associates bid outcome

Mumbai: Dalmia Bharat will wait for the outcome of its bid for the assets of Jaiprakash Associates before starting construction at its proposed greenfield plant at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, managing director Puneet Dalmia said on Wednesday.

"We want to be flexible to see what happens and take a call once a major acquisition like JPA (Jaiprakash Associates) plays out," Dalmia said on a call to analysts.

The country's fourth-largest producer of cement is one of the companies which has bid for Jaiprakash Associates. The Adani Group, Vedanta, Suraksha Group, Jindal Steel and Power and PNC Infratech are the other bidders for the company, which is currently under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

Dalmia Bharat has executed a mining lease, and has almost completed the land purchase, while environmental clearance is under process for this proposed plant in Jaisalmer, which will have a capacity of 6 million tonne and will help cater to markets in north India.

The company currently has a capacity of 49.5 mt, which it plans to increase to 75 mt by fiscal 2028, and 110-130 mt by fiscal 2031. It will review the plan for the Jaisalmer plant in April next year.

"My sense is that if we can break ground between April and June 2026, we can commission the plant by March 28. However, before committing to the Jaisalmer project in North, we would like to wait for the outcome of our bid for acquisition of Jaisalmer Associates," Dalmia said.