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Ambuja Cements to start $ 50 mn Lankan unit on Feb 2

Gujarat Ambuja Cements, one of the top cement companies in India, will start its $ 50 million integrated cement plant in Sri Lanka next month.

The foundation laying ceremony of the project will be held on February 2 at the Galle Port, Ambuja's Sri Lankan arm Midigama Cements Limited chief executive officer M C Ramakrishnan said.

Ambuja has drawn up an elaborate plan to construct the ultra-modern plant in two phases -- a storage terminal and a clinker grinding unit. In the initial stage, it will have an annual capacity of half a million tonnes and later the capacity would be increased to double.

''We are happy to come to Sri Lanka and the people and the government here have welcomed us with open arms,'' Ramakrishnan said.

He said the first phase of the project will be completed in two years. "In the meantime, we will be introducing our cement to Sri Lanka by importing it from India," he added.

Ramakrishnan said usually a cement plant of this size helps create and develop ancillary industry and infrastructure, bringing about economic development of the surrounding area.

The project when fully operational is likely to create employment opportunities for more than 1000 people.

Ambuja has five cement plants in India and its total annual capacity is seven million tonnes. Ambuja is also ranked among the most efficient cement companies in the world with power and fuel consumption and productivity levels matching some of the best cement plants in Japan.

It is also India's largest cement exporter, recording more than half a million tonnes in 1998.

UNI

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