Displaying items by tag: India

India: Orissa Bengal Carrier has entered into a three-month contract to transport coal and petcoke for Shiva Cement, a subsidiary of JSW Cement, effective until 31 December 2024. The company has not disclosed the value of the contract.

India: JSW Cement has commissioned another 2Mt/yr of grinding capacity at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka, increasing the plant's total capacity to 6Mt/yr. The expansion, which cost US$55m, increases the company's overall capacity to over 20Mt/yr.  JSW Cement was set to raise US$476m through an initial public offering (IPO), but the Securities and Exchange Board of India has placed the IPO plans ‘in abeyance’ as of September 2024, according to the Economic Times. Funds from the IPO were earmarked for debt repayment and financing a new unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan.

Chief executive officer Nilesh Narwekar said "This new capacity at Vijayanagar is a significant step towards increasing our overall capacity to 40.8Mt/yr while maintaining our commitment to sustainability."

India: UltraTech Cement will procure an additional 7MW of wind-solar hybrid power production capacity from Continuum MP Windfarm, increasing total procurement from 14MW to 21MW. This power is supplied from its 100MW project in Ratlam District in Madhya Pradesh. To facilitate this, UltraTech has raised its shareholding in Continuum MP Windfarm from 3.28% to 5.46% by investing approximately US$2.9m. The acquisition is expected to complete within 120 days following amendments to the power purchase Agreement, share purchase agreement, and shareholders agreement.

India: Ambuja Cement has proposed the establishment of a cement plant at Ramannapet, eliciting concerns from local residents over potential environmental impacts. The proposed plant is intended to be built on 70 acres initially designated for a dry port, and involves an investment of US$167m, according to the Deccan Chronicle. The River Musi, located 14km from the proposed plant, is expected to be at risk, as well as local residents living near the site. The Pollution Control Board is scheduled for a public hearing on 23 October 2024 regarding this matter.

Rythu Sangam district president Meka Ashok Reddy highlighted the community's concerns, noting that fertile agricultural fields within a 14km radius could be turned into ‘wastelands’, and crop yields along the River Musi might drop by 30% due to water contamination. He said that 10 villages around Ramannapet would be affected by pollution from the proposed plant.

India: Ambuja Cements has entered the Alliance for Industry Decarbonisation (AFID), becoming the first cement manufacturer worldwide to join this global platform. AFID aims to accelerate the net zero transition in energy-intensive sectors, like cement, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Ambuja Cements has set a net zero target for 2050, with goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company plans to invest US$1.2bn in renewable energy projects totalling 1GW and 376MW from waste heat recovery systems to power 60% of its expanded capacity by the 2028 financial year. This strategy will reportedly lower its carbon footprint, and utilise more than 8.6Mt of discarded materials in the financial year 2024.

Non-executive director of Ambuja Cements, Mr Karan Adani, said "This marks another significant step for Ambuja in its sustainability journey. We are already amongst the lowest emission intensity cement producers globally and are undertaking a number of strategic initiatives to further reduce our greenhouse gas emissions footprint. Being a member of the Alliance for Industry Decarbonisation will allow us to leverage the experiences of global cross-sector industry peers. And, in turn, share our approach to decarbonisation."

India: Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister Haradanahalli Kumaraswamy has visited the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) plant in Bokajan, Assam, where he emphasised the potential of the facility to benefit local communities. During his visit, Kumaraswamy inaugurated a hot gas utilisation project at the plant's raw mills and laid the foundation for a 1MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic plant, reports the Deccan Herald. He also discussed important local issues, including the need for upgrades at the Bokajan cement factory and pollution control. CCI chair and managing director Sanjay Verma outlined plans to upgrade the plant’s equipment over the next three years and highlighted the employment of local labour as vital for regional economic growth.

India: Cement producers in North, Central and East India have reduced production by 10 - 15% in the second quarter of 2024 due to low demand and project delays after an extended monsoon, according to The Hindu Business Line. Clinker utilisation stands at 70-75% for the quarter, down from around 80% during April – June 2024. South India remains comparatively unaffected.

India: Ramco Cements has increased its cement grinding capacity by nearly 1Mt/yr. The company carried out debottlenecking at its Kalavatala plant in Andhra Pradesh, enhancing capacity from 1.5Mt/yr to 2Mt/yr. Similarly, at the Valapady grinding unit in Salem District, Tamil Nadu, capacity has been increased from 1.6Mt.yr to 2Mt/yr.

India: The city of Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in Tamil Nadu has entered an agreement with a cement manufacturing unit in Ariyalur to use the city’s non-recyclable plastic materials as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to power the plant’s kilns. This initiative aims to divert substantial amounts of plastic from the Ariyamangalam dump, starting with 300t/month and increasing over time, with hopes to collaborate with more cement plants, according to the Times of India. The city generates approximately 480t/day of non-recyclable materials, with plans to eventually prevent landfill use completely.

A Trichy official said “A cement manufacturer in Ariyalur has agreed to accept 6 - 8t/day of inert plastic ‘waste’, which will be transported to the plant in a corporation truck. It will be utilised to power the kilns as a substitute for fossil fuel.”

India: Rambhav Gattu, a chief manufacturing officer at Ambuja Cement in Chhattisgarh, has been arrested for allegedly attempting to bribe a government official in Odisha, Reuters reports. He is accused of having offered a box of confectionery containing US$2382 to the collector of Odisha's Barghar region, whose duties involve collecting revenues. A case has been registered against Gattu for ‘attempting to induce a public servant’, without specifying what the money offered was for. The arrest aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anti-corruption campaign, which has intensified actions against corrupt practices.