MUMBAI: Shree Cement will consolidate its presence in northern India by getting into South Punjab and North Rajasthan markets by early next fiscal. The company, which runs the largest single-location cement factory in North India, is setting up grinding units at Roorkee (Uttar Pradesh) and Suratgarh (Rajasthan) for an investment of Rs 350 crore to cater to new markets. The units will have a combined capacity of 8,000 tonne per day and will commence operations by March.
Hari Mohan Bangur, managing director of Shree Cement, told ET that the new units will help the company tap the entire northern regions. “We can see huge demand in the northern region driven by infrastructure, the Commonwealth Games and investments in road networks,” Mr Bangur added.
The Roorkee unit will supply cement to Uttarkhand, while the Suratgarh unit will cater to south Punjab and north Rajasthan markets. Cement demand is still healthy and over-capacity concern is for a short period, Mr Bangur added.
Shree Cement largely commands nearly 18% share of the north India market. Its market share is the highest in the Delhi market. In Haryana, its share is higher than Grasim Industries and Ambuja Cements, said an analyst with domestic brokerage firm. Its capacity will go up to 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by next month.
Cement demand in North India grew by 9% during 2004-09 to 35.1 million tonnes. Bulk of the consumption was in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, accounting for 21%, 18% and 31% respectively, last fiscal. The cement industry registered new high in despatches in January due to robust demand. It sold 18.19 million tonnes (mt) in January, surpassing earlier high of 18.1 mt in March 2009.
The industry’s despatch growth stood at 12.77% on a year-on-year basis, the highest since August last year.
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