India: The Mumbai Port Trust has allocated allotted 25,000m2 of land at Petroleum Godown to UltraTech Cement for 30 years, from which cement can be shipped in from other states and distributed to users across the city, according to trust chairman and managing director Ravi Parmar.
The land will be used to build a fully-automated cement handling terminal devoid of air pollution. In 18 months, when the terminal will be completed, it will engage in the transport of cement required for Mumbai's consumption via the coastal route. The estimated cost of the development of the facility, duly equipped with portable unloaders, 30,000t silos, bagging facilities and other ancillary facilities is about US$16.1m.
Mumbai city consumes approximately 1.25Mt/yr of cement. Currently, this cement is moved by road and rail through neighbouring states, necessitating the entry and exit of nearly 350 trucks per day, congesting the already strained city roads.