Himachal targets 14 mn tonnes cement production annually

Blessed with some of the best limestone mines in the country, Himachal Pradesh is aiming to produce 14 million tonnes of cement every year soon.

"At present, three cement plants produce 4.2 million tonnes of cement every year, but with the setting up five new plants the production in the next few years could touch 14 million tonnes per annum," said Kuldeep Kumar, state industries minister.

Kumar was speaking at the mineral advisory council meeting in New Delhi on Monday, a spokesman of the state government here said.

He said the hill state ranked sixth in limestone reserves of the country. Limestone is a key ingredient in the manufacture of cement. Kumar said Himachal was the only state in the country to have rock salt mines and was considering developing these as tourist sites as in Europe.

"The good-quality slate roof mines (a stone) in the state was attracting international buyers," he said.

"The Himachal government was seriously considering de-reserving the entire mineral-rich Sirmaur district for economic and scientific exploration. It is currently protected and reserved under the Mineral Concessions Rule of 1960," the industries minister said.

The state government has in the past few months allotted four cement plants to global cement giants like Lafarge, the Birlas, Jaypee and India Cements.