Chennai, Oct 28 (IANS): Cement major UltraTech Cement Ltd on Saturday said it will expand its capacity by 21.9 million tonne per annum (mtpa) at an outlay of about Rs 13,000 crore funded from internal accruals.
Part of the Aditya Birla group, UltraTech Cement said the expansion will be a mix of brown and green field projects. "Over the past seven years, UltraTech has strategically invested over Rs 50,000 crore to support India's rapidly changing infrastructure landscape. Our fresh commitment of Rs 13,000 crore underscores our deep-rooted belief in India's economic potential. With each investment, we have not only expanded our footprint but also powered India's needs for housing, roads, and other vital infrastructure," Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group said.
He added: "Earlier this year, I had articulated our ambition to reach a capacity of 200 mtpa, and this expansion marks a pivotal step in that direction. With this round of capex UltraTech reinforces its position as one of the largest cement companies in the world and a national champion."
Part of the expansion includes investments in setting up additional 39 MW waste heat recovery systems (WHRS) capacity at a cost of Rs 453 crore and Rs 180 crore towards alternative fuel feeding and handling equipment.
UltraTech Cement will use green energy in excess of 60 per cent by the end of 2027.
This will be supported by a total WHRS capacity of over 400MW and renewable energy of approximately 1.5 GW.
Post commissioning of the third phase of expansion, approved by the Board today, UltraTech will be strongly placed across the country with 35.5 mtpa in South; 40.4 mtpa in East; 36.2 mtpa in North; 35.7 mtpa in Central and 33.8 mtpa in the West.
This will be achieved by setting up 4 greenfield and 4 brownfield plants alongwith 4 greenfield bulk terminals. Commercial production from these new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner from FY26 onwards and will catapult the company's cement capacity to 187 mtpa globally, the company said.