Adani's Ambuja Cement to invest Rs 1,600 crore in Bihar to set up grinding unit

NEW DELHI: Adani Group-owned Ambuja Cement Ltd (ACL) on Saturday announced an investment of around Rs 1,600 crore in Bihar to set up a cement grinding unit at Warisaliganj in Nawada district.

The 6 MTPA Warisaliganj cement grinding unit is the first venture in Bihar of ACL, which is aggressively expanding its capacity in the country, according to a statement from the Adani Cement entity.

"The Warisaliganj Cement Grinding Unit, a standalone facility with an overall capacity of 6 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), will be established at an investment of nearly Rs 1,600 crore," it said.

With this announcement, the billionaire Gautam Adani-led firm has become "the largest investment in the state by a cement industry player".

"The project will meet the growing infrastructure needs of Bihar, aligning with priorities outlined in the recent Union Budget," it said.

In the latest Union Budget 2024-25, the Narendra Modi-led government unveiled big-ticket projects for Bihar, proposing a total outlay of over Rs 60,000 crore for various projects, including funding for three expressways, a power plant, heritage corridors and new airports and sports infrastructure.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Centre's support for the development of three Expressway projects -- Patna-Purnea, Buxar-Bhagalpur, and Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga, and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar.

These four projects will have a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore.

The Adani group firm said it will execute its cement grinding unit project in phases, with the first phase being commissioned by December next year.

"The project will be implemented in three phases with first phase of 2.4 MTPA at an investment of Rs 1,100 crore is targeted to be commissioned by December 2025. Adequate provisioning of land for future expansion is in place, which will be commissioned in due course at much lower capex," ACL said.

The project will be located in Mosama village, Tehsil Warisaliganj, District Nawada, Bihar and the site is well-connected by road and rail network.

Moreover, this project will contribute "approximately Rs 250 crore per year to the state's fiscal revenue" and create 250 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs.

Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA), the state agency, has already allotted 67.90 acres of land for this cement unit for which environmental clearance has been obtained for work on the site.

Pranav Adani, Managing Director (Agro, Oil & Gas) and Director, Adani Enterprises Limited, said: "We look forward to collaborating with the state government, authorities, and local communities on this and future projects. State government's support in fast tracking and provisioning of all permits has made this landmark investment possible in short time."

Adani Group is the second largest cement maker. It had recently announced the acquisition of Hyderabad-based Penna Cement at an enterprise value of Rs 10,422 crore, which will add 14 MTPA, taking its capacity to 93 MTPA.

The group aims to achieve a 140 MTPA capacity by FY28 and is aggressively expanding organically through capacity expansion at the existing units and also going for acquisitions. Through Ambuja, it also controls ACC Ltd and acquired MyHome Industries and Sanghi Industries in 2023.