Ambuja Cement Eastern is planning to set up a new 1 million tpa grinding unit in West Bengal, with an investment of Rs.115 crore. The expansion would take AECL's capacity in West Bengal to 2 million tpa. The proposed plant will be coming up in Farakka and will cater to the north Bengal and north-east Indian markets.

The company had earlier planned to expand its existing Sankrail plant, but later decided in favour of setting up a new unit at Farakka in Murshidabad, due to its strategic location. Work on the project is likely to commence by December 2005 and is scheduled for completion by June 2006.

The existing ACEL plant at Sankrail in Howrah was formerly owned by Modi Cement. Later, the unit was rechristened ACEL.

Cement units in West Bengal: Currently, West Bengal's cement capacity is around 6 million tpa. Four leading players -- Ultratech, ACEL, Birla Coporation and ACC -- account for 4 million tpa. Several regional companies account for the remainder. Annual cement demand in West Bengal is estimated to be 10 million tonnes, according to sources.

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Gujarat Ambuja announces Rs.2,000 crore crore expansion (28-Mar-05)