Star Cement’s Rs 450 cr Bengal plant ops to start “soon”

India's largest cement manufacturer in the northeast, Star Cement's two million tonne greenfield cement plant in West Bengal is ready, and commercial production is set to start soon, said the company recently. The grinding unit worth Rs 450 crore has been set up in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal. The plant is to be built on nine acres of land which the state government has provided out of around 45 acres. Currently, Star Cement has a manufacturing capacity of 4.3 mt, which would go up to 6.3 mt after production starts at the new facility. The company has 51 MW of captive power and a clinker capacity of 2.8 mt. Clinkers will be sourced by the company from its integrated cement plant in Meghalaya that has mines nearby. Fly ash will be procured from West Bengal or Bihar. Amid the crisis triggered by the pandemic, the company expressed its optimism about the long-term prospects of the cement market in eastern India, which is at 20-25 mt and expected to grow by 8-9%. Image Source: Star Cement