Aiming to become one of the top five cement companies in the country, Anil Ambani group company Reliance Infrastructure has chalked big plans to set up plants which entail an investment of Rs 10,000 crore.
Explaining the logic behind entering the cement sector, company chairman Anil Ambani said, "As a natural extension of the power and infrastructure interest of our group, it gives us strategic advantage to enter into cement."
Observing that nearly 40 per cent of the cost of making cement comes from coal, fly ash and power, Ambani told shareholders at the 80th annual general meeting that "given all the three ingredients are at the core of our existing portfolio, there are obvious synergies that are waiting to be exploited".
The company will invest Rs 10,000 crore in setting up cement plants with a total capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum over the next five years which will make the firm one the top five cement players in the country, Ambani said.
Last week, another group company Reliance Cementation had signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government for setting up a 5 million tonnes integrated cement plant in Yavatmal with a grinding unit at Batibori in Nagpur district at an investment of Rs 2,250 crore.
Ambani said the cement industry grew by 8 per cent in 2008-09 despite a slowdown and is expected to maintain the same growth pattern in the next 10-15 years.
