Chairman BK Birla says land identified in Malda, awaits govt nod. |
With Kumar Mangalam Birla set to take charge of the Rs 2,500-crore Century Textiles & Industries, the company is planning to set up a cement grinding plant in north Bengal. |
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"We are setting up the factory in north Bengal. I feel there is a good market for cement in north Bengal as well as in the Northeast, which we shall tap," Century Textiles Chairman Basant Kumar Birla told Business Standard. |
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According to Birla, the group has submitted a formal proposal to the state government for land. "We have identified the land for the project in Malda. In another 2-3 months, we should get the land," he added. |
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The octogenarian industrialist said the group was likely to invest around Rs 200 crore in the cement plant, which would have a grinding capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year. |
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"We shall bring clinker from our plants in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and grind it here," he added. |
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The announcement is significant since the Aditya Birla group, which will eventually take control of Century Textiles, is engaged in a fierce battle with the world's largest cement maker Holcim, to protect its No 1 slot in Indian market. |
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Holcim is also setting up a one million tonne cement grinding plant at Farakka in north Bengal. |
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Century Textiles had three cement plants called Century Cement (Chhattisgarh), Maihar Cement (MP) and Manickgarh Cement (Maharashtra). This will be the group's first cement venture in West Bengal. |
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