Calcutta, April 4: Rashmi Group has chalked out plans to invest Rs 450 crore to augment steel and cement capacity in Bengal even as the core sectors are yet to look up.

The Calcutta-based group intends to spend Rs 300 crore to step up production of ductile iron pipes at Kharagpur and another Rs 150 crore to increase cement capacity at Jhargram.

Pradip K. Chakrabarti, director (projects), said the capacity of ductile iron pipes would be raised to 350,000 tonnes from 140,000 tonnes a year by December 2016. "The demand for pipes is rising steadily as civic bodies are opting for it for water supply. We do not foresee any problem selling the additional volume," he said.

The company is also increasing the hot metal capacity from to 350,000 tonnes from 200,000 tonnes to support additional ductile pipe volume at Kharagpur where it has enough land, acquired privately, for expansion.

The expansion in steel products would also help the Rs 3,000-crore group to increase cement production. It buys clinker from the market and uses slag produced from the steel plant to make ordinary Portland cement. The Jhargram plant is only 34 kilometres away from the Kharagpur unit.