Mumbai firm proposes cement plant in Kutch

A little known Mumbai-based cement manufacturer and distributing company has proposed a cement manufacturing plant, a captive jetty, and a power plant at Koteshwar in Kutch district of Gujarat.

The company is willing to invest Rs 1,397 crore for the project. If the plans materialise, this would be the second cement manufacturing plant in Koteshwar. The Sanghi group already has a plant in the area.

A highly placed official of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), which looks after the development of the state ports, said, "A Mumbai-based company, Deepak Cement, has come out with a proposal to invest Rs 1,397 crore in Koteshwar in Kutch district. The company intends to build a cement plant, a captive jetty and a power plant in Koteshwar."

Talking about the details of the proposed project he said the company's planned cement plant would have a capacity of 3 million tonnes of cement per annum while the captive jetty would have a cargo handling capacity of 2 million tonnes.

The power generation capacity of power plant will be 100 megawatt.

The company intends to invest Rs 97 crore in the first phase and in the second, it would invest Rs 1,300 crore, he said.

He said the company had applied for the hydrographic survey of the area to know the contours of the seabed and depth of the water in the area.

"Once the survey is complete, the company would apply for the construction of the captive jetty." This would take at least one-and-a half years, he added.

Deepak Cement was bought recently by Hement Pandey, a businessman. The company is in the process of changing its name after the takeover, the official said declining to divulge further details of the company.