Lafarge Achieved 8 MT Cement Manufacturing Capacity

French cement maker Lafarge today said it is looking at expanding its operations in India and has achieved 8 MT cement manufacturing capacity here. "We plans to grow, mostly through internal expansion for our existing cement plants, " Lafarge Global Chairman and CEO Bruno Lafont told reporters on the sidelines of an event. The company s cement manufacturing capacity has increased from 6.5 MT in FY 10 to 8 MT currently, he said. "We will continue with our programme to increase production capacity in India by 2 MT per annum. " The company recently expanded its capacity through new production lines at Jojobera in Jharkhand and at Mejia in West Bengal. Its four greenfield projects in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh are in different stages of progress. The company is not looking for any inorganic growth in the country, Lafont said, but declined to comment on when the expansion will be completed. Lafont said the company will continue investing in its concrete and construction aggregates businesses in India. In 2008, Lafarge acquired L&T s concrete business and today it is one of the leading players in the ready-mix concrete business with 83 plants across the country. Lafarge entered the Indian market in 1999 with the acquisition of Tata Steel s cement business. This was followed by the purchase of the Raymond Cement facility in 2001. Lafarge currently has four cement plant across the country - in Sonadih and Arasmeta in Chhattisgarh, Jojobera and Mejia. The group is a major cement player in Eastern region of India with a market share of about 18 per cent. Source: uaecement.com