GACL expands capacity by 1 Million Tonnes: To invest Rs 200 cr in Ropar facility

Environment gets thumbs up as Company plans total 8-lakh tonnes use of fly ash in
2004-05   

- Ropar Thermal Power Plant will be 1st in India to implement

100% utilization of fly-ash generated -

 Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited (GACL) announced that it has added one million tonnes of fresh capacity at its production facility in Ropar, Punjab. The company today commenced operations at a new unit in its fly ash based cement grinding plant in Ropar which will now be able to produce 2.5 million tonnes of cement every year. The new unit was inaugurated by Captain Amarinder Singh, Hon able Chief Minister of Punjab.

Once the captive power plant is operational, GACL will have invested Rs 200 crores in this expansion.  Of this, investments worth approximately Rs 130 crores have already been undertaken. With this round of capacity expansion, aimed at strengthening GACLs presence in the North Indian market, GACLs total production capacity now stands at 14.5 million tonnes per annum.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Suresh Neotia, Chairman, GACL said, The market conditions are good. With interest rates remaining soft and Governments commitment to infrastructure development both in urban and rural areas, we feel the demand for cement will go up. We hope to service the additional demand in North Indian markets through the augmented capacity.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Captain Amarinder Singh said, The government is committed to furthering industrial development in the state. We will be taking all necessary steps including infrastructure development to attract investments in the state which will create economic opportunities for all. He lauded GACLs efforts in the area of environment conservation and its contribution in bringing a large number of direct and indirect job opportunities.

The biggest beneficiaries of this expansion are the environment and the agriculturists of Punjab. With the new unit, GACLs Ropar plant will utilize 8 lakh tonnes of fly ash annually. Mr. Neotia added With this, Ropar Thermal Power Plant will become the first to implement 100% utilization of fly ash. We salute the Punjab Government and Punjab State Electricity Board for encouraging the use of fly ash and are proud to be a part of this success story.  

GACLs plant located in the vicinity of Ropar Thermal Power Plant uses significant quantities of fly ash, a waste product generated by the thermal plant, hazardous to environment/ agricultural land. Ever since the GACL plant was commissioned, it has innovated to increase the percentage of fly ash in its cement. The initial guarantee to the Punjab State Electricity Board to consume 2.5 lac ton of fly ash every year has now been far surpassed, and GACLs consumption now stands at 8 lakh tonnes. According to independent estimates, over the last 8 years GACL has prevented close to 200 acres of productive agricultural land in the region from turning into waste.

Mr Neotia added, Under the dynamic leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab has achieved great success in the effective utilization of Fly-Ash, and GACL is proud to be a part of this success story.  

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