With an expenditure plan of Rs.34.3 billion, Ramco Cements is all set to attain cement capacity of 20 mtpa by 2020. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu recently laid the foundation stone for a 3.15-mtpa greenfield Ramco Cement plant in Kurnool district at an investment of around Rs 15 billion. Environment clearance has been obtained for the proposed plant, and the required mining lease for the proposed plant is in place.  A substantial portion of land required for the plant has already been acquired by the company, and the Andhra Pradesh Government has consented to allot the balance required land for the project.  State-of-the-art plant  The cement plant will be a state-of-the-art unit with no emission and no effluent discharge, and will be one of the model cement plants with least thermal and electrical energy consumption. The plant will have a Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) and a thermal power plant for its energy requirement. A 25-km railway line is proposed to connect Sanjamala station from the plant. The cement plant is expected to be completed within 15 months from the date of all requisite statutory clearances. The project is expected to generate direct employment of 300 people and indirect employment of about 1,200  people. Besides, Ramco Cements is also planning to build a township for its employees in the proposed cement plant. High on capacity Ramco Cement proposes to expand its clinker capacity from 3.10 mtpa to 4.60 mtpa, along with WHRS of 27 MW at its Jayanthipuram plant in Krishna district at Rs 7.4 billion.  The project is expected to be commissioned in March 2020.  The company is also expanding its grinding capacity at Vizag by another 1 mtpa with an investment of Rs 2.5 billion for increasing the capacity from 0.9 mtpa to 2 mtpa, and is expected to be commissioned in March 2020.  With the above investments, the capacity in Andhra Pradesh would come close to 10 mtpa, making Ramco Cements the largest cement manufacturer in Andhra Pradesh.   In addition to the above investments in Andhra Pradesh, the company is also embarking upon its expansion of its grinding capacities in the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal.  In Odisha, the company is establishing a greenfield grinding plant with a capacity of 0.9 mtpa at Rs 5.15 billion with a railway siding facility. This is expected to be commissioned by September 2019. Ramco Cements is also expanding its grinding capacity in Kolaghat, West Bengal, from 0.9 mtpa to 2 mtpa at Rs 4.25 billion with a railway siding facility. It is expected to be commissioned in April 2019.  With the above capital expenditure plan of Rs 34.3 billion, Ramco Cements is set to reach the cement capacity of 20 mtpa by the end of 2020. The proposed capex is expected to be funded largely through internal accruals and balance through borrowings.