To expand its its Gulbarga cement plant in Karnataka, global cement manufacturer Vicat Group is planning to invest Rs 1,300 crore. The plant is a joint-venture between Vicat and Hyderabad-based Sagar Cements. M Ravinder Reddy, Head (Marketing), Vicat Group India said that the company plans to set up two identical lines at the cement plant in subsequent years.
The infrastructure and clearances are in place and the second line is expected to be operational by 2016, Reddy said. The three lines together would take the capacity to 8.25 million tonne per annum in the next four years.
The company on January 30 announced commercial dispatch from its first line of 2.75-million tonne plant that had commenced production this month.
The first line had come up with an investment of Rs 1,800 crore with an equity : debt ratio of 35 : 65. Cement from the plant would be marketed under the ‘Bharathi Cement’ brand, and is targeted at domestic consumption in north Andhra Pradesh, north Karnataka and Maharashtra. Vicat, which had acquired a 51 per cent stake in Bharathi Cement, runs the joint venture plant at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.