Germany's HeidelbergCement said on Sunday it will set up a 2 million tonnes a year cement plant in western India to tap rising demand in the world's second-largest cement producing market. Heidelberg, the world's fourth-largest cement maker, said in a statement it would build the plant in Gujarat state but did not disclose any investment numbers.
The company already makes 3.5 million tonnes of cement a year in India. "Heidelberg wants to achieve the stated objective of 10 to 15 million tonnes capacity in India over the next three to four years, by going for acquisitions, brownfield as well as greenfield projects," Chief Executive Bernd Scheifele said in a statement.
The company bought a 51 percent stake in Mysore Cements Ltd for $94 million in July. It is also setting up a grinding plant with unlisted Indorama Cement.
India's fragmented cement industry, which has more than four dozen big cement makers with an annual capacity of 165 million tonnes, is seeing consolidation.
The world's second-biggest cement maker, Swiss-based Holcim, which owns a third in Associated Cement Companies, has recently raised it holding in Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd to nearly 21 percent.
Indian cement makers have pledged to add 100 million tonnes of capacity in the next three years at a cost of 400 billion rupees ($9 billion) to meet demand from infrastructure and housing projects.