Cementing growth

Calcutta, Feb. 1: City-based Concast Group is planning to invest over Rs 2,000 crore to strengthen its steel and cement businesses over the next two to three years.

The company has recently acquired a majority stake in a 0.5-million-tonne-per-annum cement plant in Jamshedpur from the original promoters Swati Group.

It is looking to invest Rs 300 crore to expand the plant’s capacity to 1.2mt by the year-end.

The company plans to set up a 1.2mt cement facility in Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated investment of Rs 800 crore.

Chairman and managing director Sanjay Sureka said the presence of limestone reserves close to the plant in both Jamshedpur and Arunachal Pradesh would benefit the company.

He added that the Arunachal unit was expected to be operational within two years after getting the environmental clearance, which was likely in a month.

The company plans to invest Rs 550 crore to upgrade the capacity of its steel plant in Jharsuguda (Odisha) to 1.4mt from 0.5mt.

It had acquired the plant last year from Bipin Vohra-promoted SPS Group.

Concast has also lined up an investment of Rs 400 crore to set up a pelletisation plant at Bankura.

Meanwhile, the company is looking to diversify into the hospitality sector and has acquired two acres for Rs 96 crore off EM Bypass.

It plans to develop a 150-room hotel and residential complex.

In the infrastructure sector, the company is looking to construct two airports at Dwarka and Ankleshwar in Gujarat. The memorandum of understanding has already been signed.

“All our expansion will be financed through a mix of bank loans and internal accruals roughly in the ratio of 70 to 30,” Sureka said.

The company hopes to increase its turnover to Rs 9,000 crore by the end of this fiscal from about Rs 7,000 crore last fiscal.

“Concast has engaged Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan as brand ambassador for its TMT steel bars under a two-year contract.”