Grasim to set up plant in Himachal

The Aditya Birla Group firm, Grasim Cement Industries, is to build the proposed Rs 1,000 crore Sundernagar cement plant in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district.

"The Grasim Industries has acquired the work from Harish Chandra Company to set up the Sundernagar cement plant," said A R Sheikh, liason officer of the Harish Chandra Company in Mandi. "All the employees of the Harish Chandra Company are now Grasim staffers," Sheikh said.

Besides 1,000 locals who would get jobs, other 10,000 would get indirect employment with the setting up of this plant, company officials said.

The Himachal Pradesh government has signed a deal with the Harish Chandra Company in 1993 to set up the plant which will have an annual capacity of 1.27 million tonnes of cement. But work could not start on the proposed project due to the weak financial condition of the company.

Now, after over a decade, the work has been awarded to Aditya Birla Group. By doing so, the Himachal government now hopes work would finally progress on this much delayed project.

Officials of Grasim said work on the plant was likely to start by the end of this year and production was expected in about 22-months time.