J K Cement to invest Rs 1,200 cr

NEW DELHI: Kanpur-based J K Cement Ltd is planning to invest about Rs 1,200 crore in the next 3-5 years for doubling its manufacturing capacity of grey cement which will include setting up of greenfield units in Karnataka and north India.

"We have plans to double our grey cement capacity to eight million tonnes in next 3-5 years and are exploring possibilities for putting up a greenfield plants in Karnataka and near Delhi," the company's Chief Financial Officer A K Saraogi said.

The capacity of the Karnataka plant would be in the range of 2.5-3 million tonnes, he said, adding that investments could be in the range of Rs 600-750 crore.

"We are presently doing the techno-feasibility study for the project," Saraogi said.

The company is also exploring possibilities of setting up a grey cement plant in areas close to Delhi with a capacity of 1.5-2 million tonnes which would involve an investment of Rs 400 crore, besides installing a grinding unit to produce fly ash cement, he said.

"We are looking for a site near Delhi to install a fly ash cement unit with an investment of about Rs 50 crore," he added.

Saraogi said the company will fund the expansion through internal accruals and debt.

The company plans to enter into some sort of arrangement with the group company Jaykaycem, which has a mining lease at Bagalkot district in Karnataka.