India: Five new cement plants will be set up in Jaipur with an estimated investment of US$1.59bn. The mines department has issued a letter of intent (LOI) to the companies and submitted the application for approval from the Union government.

Three LOI have been given for blocks at Chittorgarh, while two are issued for the blocks in Jaisalmer. The proposals of all the five blocks have been sent to Geological Survey of India (GSI). After receiving approval from them, all companies will be allowed to start their plants.

"There are a total of four LOI that have been given, while one company has been given the old block after orders from the court. It is now up to the Union government to decide. Once permissions are granted, all of the companies can work at their identified places," said an official from the mines department.

According to the officials, nearly US$1.59bn will be invested in the plants, generating employment for more than 5000 people. The state government will receive royalty from the blocks leased for mining. Meanwhile, total production capacity of the new plants is likely to be nearly 3Mt/yr. "The investments will be US$1.44 - 1.59bn. The department will get US$5.59m per plant as royalty," added the official.