HeidelbergCement India seeks JV to secure coal supplies

HeidelbergCement India Ltd is seeking to form joint ventures to secure coal supplies for a planned Rs. 12 billion (US$ 265 million) expansion. The company plans to double capacity to 6 million t by 2012 to tap demand that is expected to grow as much as 10% annually over the next five years. Managing Director Ashish Guha said that the company used coal worth Rs. 740 million (US$ 16 million) in 2009.

In an interview with the Indian press, Guha said, “We will have to link our coal supply to someone for long-term supply or get into a joint venture to look into mining. Given our current capacity, coal mine sizes are too large for us to mine on our own”.

The company, which is based in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, operates four plants in India.

Indian cement makers will add about 375 million t of capacity over the next five years as the government increases spending on building highways, ports, airports and utilities. Guha said that Asia’s third largest economy needs to spend about US$ 1 trillion on infrastructure from April 2012 to March 2017, twice the amount the nation’s Planning Commission recommended in the previous five years.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/17112010/heidelbergcement_india_seeks_jv_to_secure_coal_supplies/