Orient Cement plans to invest Rs3,600 crore

After jettisoning the deal to buy 2 cement units from the distressed Jaypee group, CK Birla group company Orient Cement plans to invest Rs3,600 crore over the next 5 years to expand its existing cement-making capacity to 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from the current 8mtpa. Last month, Orient Cement announced that it had terminated its agreement with Jaiprakash Associates to buy 2 of the latter’s cement units for Rs1,946 crore. Orient was to acquire Jaiprakash’s 74% stake in its joint venture with SAIL for Bhilai Jaypee Cement Ltd and a separate Nigrie Cement Grinding unit from Jaiprakash Power Ventures. Meanwhile, in the March quarter, Orient Cement Ltd’s cement sales volumes declined 3% year-on-year at 1.68 million tonnes (mt), impacted by weak demand in south India and increasing competition in the company’s core operating markets of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and Karnataka. In an attempt to further boost cost efficiency, the company is planning to set-up a Waste Heat Recovery System in the next 12-15 months.