India: Cement Cos' to add fresh capacities

New Delhi: The cement industry is planning to add fresh manufacturing capacities to the tune of 110 million tonnes entailing an investment of Rs 50,000 crore over the next three years, the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) said today.

“In the next three years, Rs 50,000 crore is being invested for increasing cement capacity in the country by 110 million tonnes,” CMA’s newly elected President, Mr H.M. Bangur said here. On the pricing front, Mr Bangur said that prices of cement were stable currently and would remain at the existing level for the next six months. “Cement prices have a stable outlook for the next six months. There might be slight movement either way,” he said.

During April-November this fiscal, cement prices rose nearly 3 per cent. Mr Bangur said that currently there was a demand-supply equilibrium in the sector and that no shortage of cement had been reported anywhere in the country. He also said that cement companies needed to prune costs and focus on higher volumes to increase profitability. During April-November period, the country saw an 8 per cent growth in the cement production, he said. Cement output during the current fiscal is estimated at 177 million tonnes, compared with 162 million tonnes a year ago.

Calling for the need to have a “level playing field” for the domestic cement sector, CMA has sought a re-imposition of countervailing duty (CVD) and special additional duty (SAD) on imported cement.