India: JSW Cement Ltd plans to switch completely to the production of Portland slag cement (PSC), according to its CEO, Anil Kumar Pillai. According to Pillai, slag cement is ideally suited to both infrastructure projects and housing construction.
"We have 6Mt/yr of cement production capacity and will be producing only this variety of cement," said Pillai. The price of PSC is almost the same as the price of ordinary Portland cement. JSW Cement expects a massive increase in demand for slag cement in view of the formation of the new Central Indian government and new governments in some States, with increased focus on infrastructural projects.
"The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an order mandating the use of only Portland slag cement in all government constructions,'' said Pillai. He added that Portland slag cement is very popular outside India, accounting for more than 90% of total cement production in some countries. However, in India, out of total 360Mt/yr cement produced, it accounts for just 7%.