Shree Cement, the third largest cement player in the country, looks all set to commence work on its proposed project in Bengal within a month.
The group is planning to invest more than Rs 600 crore in the cement grinding unit, which might pave the way for employing 150 people directly and over 1,000 indirectly. This will mark its first production facility in the state where the group has its headquarters.
H M Bangur, MD of Shree Cement, said West Bengal is now poised for big investments. He was interacting with WBIDC chairman Rajiva Sinha in a webinar organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.
“We have purchased land in Purulia for the project and the entire land parcel has already been bought. We should start work on the plant in a month so. We are coming here very soon. This would be one of the ultra modern units in the country,” he added.
Later, the joint MD of Shree Cement, Prashant Bangur, told that it would invest more than Rs 600 crore for the cement grinding unit here. The capacity of the project would be 3 million tonne. It has purchased 80 acres for the cement project. “The direct employment would be 150 while indirect employment will be more than 1,000,” he added.
The current capacity of Shree Cement is 44 million tonne and this would take it to 47 million tonne. Only Ultratech and Holcim have higher capacity than this. The project was initially announced by H M Bangur during the Bengal Global Business Summit in 2021. “This will be our first plant in Bengal. In the east, we have plants in Odisha, Chattishgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand,” he added.
Earlier, while interacting in the webinar, H M Bangur said that he is now quite bullish on Bengal. “The growth in the state is higher than the national average and in last one year, perception has also changed. In the last 10 years, no man-days have been lost and work culture has also improved,” he added.
Bangur also suggested that the state government may think of reducing the amount of incentives being offered now but can give incentive to industry upfront. WBIDC chairman Rajiva Sinha pointed out that it has started gathering information about the presence of big companies in the state.
“We initially thought of a list of 50 companies which have a turnover of more than Rs 250 crore but already we have accumulated a list of 156 companies,” he added.
