Cement manufacturers on Monday said they have resumed partial production at their plants following government easing of guidelines in the extended phase of lockdown and maintained that limited workforce will not be an issue as demand will be low.
The Industry body Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) said lifting of restrictions on construction and opening up of cement dealer shops would help to increase cement dispatches.
"Given that the production will not be at full capacity to begin with, the labour at site and within the plant premises should be sufficient to run the cement plants," CMA President Mahendra Singhi told PTI.
For now, most of the cement companies have stocks, he said.
When asked how much time the industry would take to reach normal capacity utilisation of the pre-lockdown period, Singhi said it would depend on demand from the construction sector.
Also Read
"It will all depend on construction getting started and the demand will ramp up accordingly. Based on the demand, the cement companies can be expected to undertake production," he added.
Cement manufacturers temporarily halted manufacturing activity at their plants across India, after the government imposed lockdown on March 25 to curb the spread of pandemic of COVID-19.
JK Lakshmi Cement said it has resumed operations from Monday at its plants in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
"In accordance with the directions issued by relevant state governments, company's integrated plants at Jaykaypuram, district Sirohi, Rajasthan and Durg, Chhattisgarh have become operational and we have resumed cement dispatches from the said plants," JK Lakshmi Cement Whole Time Director Shailendra Chouksey said.
Last week, JK Cement said that it had made its manufacturing facilities in Karnataka partially operational after receiving permission from the state government.
"Moreover, production at our manufacturing facilities situated in UP is being commenced shortly, in terms of permission issued by the government on April16," it had said adding it is seeking necessary approval from authorities for resumption of production facilities situated in the state of Rajasthan, Haryana and MP.
Leading player, UltraTech cement also said after obtaining permission from relevant state governments, the company has partially resumed production at some of its plants.
"Taking cognisance of the governments' views around resuming manufacturing activities with controlled entry and exit facilities, and in light of the Ministry of Home Affairs order dated April 15, 2020 and after obtaining necessary permissions as required, operations at some of the company's locations are being partially resumed," Aditya Birla group firm had said in a regulatory filing.
While HeidelbergCement India has also resumed production after obtaining permission of the district administration and is in the process of doing so for the other units.
"The company will gradually step up its operations depending upon the directions being issued by the government from time to time and the market demand," said HeidelbergCement India.
In fresh guidelines last week for enforcing the second phase of lockdown, the government allowed functioning of industrial units located in rural areas from April 20 while observing strict social distancing norms.
However, it barred all kinds of public transport and prohibited opening of public places till May 3.
According to the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), the total installed capacity in the Indian cement sector is approximately 500 million tonnes per annum.
The Indian cement industry accounts for over 7 per cent of the global installed capacity and is the second largest cement industry in the world, after China.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
