The JSW group has been forced to delay its expansion in paints because of the pandemic.

JSW Paints plans to expand in the north, central and eastern regions and the company has earmarked an investment of Rs 750 crore. A decision on the expansion is likely to be made by the end of the current fiscal.

The board of directors of JSW Steel in July has approved investments in JSW Paints in tranches between 2021-22 and 2024-25.

At present, the company has an industrial coatings facility in Maharashtra and a decorative unit in Karnataka with a combined capacity of 115,000 kilo litres per annum.

The third plant of JSW Paints could come up at Salboni in Bengal where the $13-billion group has a cement factory.

JSW Paints will expand mainly in the decorative segment where the company is looking towards improving its market shares to 5 per from 1.5 per cent over a three- year period.

“We had commissioned and launched the paints business in 2019. We were expecting a quick and rapid ramp up. But more than a year-and-a half has been affected because of the pandemic and that has slowed our plans to scale up,” said A.S Sundaresan, joint managing director and CEO, JSW Paints.

The company on Thursday announced its foray into the Bengal market which will be catered from its existing plants.