West Bengal's cement capacity is likely to see robust expansion to the tune of about 10 million tonne in the next few years, officials said on Friday.
State Finance Minister Amit Mitra said the capex of the state is at Rs 19,000-20,000 crore, a rise of 8.5 times since 2011-12, which had an impact on cement demand.
"When we came to power (in 2011), there were only five cement companies with a combined capacity of 4.8 million tonne. Now, there are 16 companies with a total installed capacity of about 20 million tonne," Mitra said at 'Cementing India', organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.
A number of cement companies have announced expansion plans in the state, including JSW Cement (2.4 million tonne to 4.8 million tonne) and Dalmia Cement (1.7 million tonne to 4 million tonne).
Star Cement will set up a greenfield grinding plant at Jalpaiguri district of 2-million tonne capacity.
"The combined new cement capacity expansion of the industry in West Bengal is about 10 million tonne over the next two-three years," said Star Cement Director Sanjay Agarwal.
Cement growth in the eastern region and West Bengal is close to 18-19 per cent, the officials said.
Mitra also urged the cement makers to consider integrated plants in the state, where grinding units are more common due to the lack of limestone deposits.
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