ACC plans three captive power plants

The Associated Cement Companies (ACC) has targeted annual cost savings of over Rs 100 crore by setting up three captive power plants. The plants are to be set up at Tikaria in Uttar Pradesh, Chanda in Maharashtra and Madukarrai in Tamil Nadu.

Tarun Das, chairman, ACC, said, "Our cost would be significantly reduced at the rate of Rs 220-250 a tonne owing to the captive power plants." The total investment for setting up these three units is estimated at Rs 187 crore, he added.

The company announced a capital expenditure outlay of Rs 500 crore for the current fiscal. The capex includes an investment of around Rs 250 crore for its ongoing expansion at its Chaibasa unit in Jharkhand, along with modernization and debottlenecking expenditures.

Replying to the shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here yesterday, Das said the board would take up the issue of a merger with Gujarat Ambuja Cement. But he did not indicate any time frame.

Answering a shareholder's query at the meeting, he said the board has not discussed the issue of merger of the company with Gujarat Ambuja. "Therefore, I am unable to answer whether there is a possibility of a merger in future. However, I will take it up with the board," he added.

Gujarat Ambuja holds a 14.5 per cent stake in ACC, and is the single largest corporate stakeholder in the company. With the Grasim - UltraTech combine coming into being, the merger between the remaining two top cement houses is now being mulled over.

However, Gujarat Ambuja has always denied any possibilities of increasing its stake in ACC or merging it with itself.