Now, cement companies firm up Bihar plans

After being wooed by sugar companies last year, the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar has received proposals for investment worth Rs 400 crore from cement companies like Ambuja Cements and Birla Corporation.

Ambuja Cements, one of the top manufacturers, has proposed setting up of a cement grinding unit of one million tonne capacity in Barh at an investment of Rs 138 crore.

Birla Corporation, the flagship company of the MP Birla group, has proposed setting up of a one million tonne grinding unit in Barh. The investment figure is not available.

Apart from these big names, there are others too. Century Plywood, a leading plywood producer, has announced an investment of Rs 119 crore for a one million tonne cement grinding unit in Kahalgaon.

BK Group, a Kolkata-based company that has cement units in Assam, has proposed an investment of Rs 137 crore for setting up a manufacturing unit near Barauni thermal power station.

"The proposals of both Ambuja and Century have been cleared by the state investment promotion board (SIPB) and the cabinet. However, the proposals of Birla Corp and BK Group are awaiting cabinet nod after getting approval in principle from the SIPB," said a state government official.

But there's a hitch. The eastern region, of which Bihar is a part, is not a major consumption centre since most of the construction boom is taking place in northern and southern states. Moreover, Bihar is short of power and the companies setting up units in the state will have to depend on captive power.

Meanwhile, the slowdown in the sugar industry has prevented companies like Dhampur and Rajshree Sugars to proceed with their plans for investing in Bihar.

After the Kumar government came to power last year, the state had received 19 investment proposals worth Rs 4,500 crore from sugar companies. So far, there is progress on only two of these proposals.