JSW Cement has unveiled a Rs 1,500-crore investment plan for a clutch of projects in Odisha that have direct links to the ongoing and future expansion of the company’s base in Bengal.

The projects will involve crushing plants for dolomite and limestone — the basic raw material for cement — and a 1.36-million-tonne clinker plant, which in turn is going to feed the plant at Salboni, Bengal.

A 1-million-tonne grinding unit apart from a 8 mega watt waste heat recovery plant are also being set up.

The fresh investments will be channelised through Shiva Cement, a subsidiary of JSW Cement.

Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Cement, said the Odisha project, located in the mineral rich district of Sundergarh, will be key to the company’s plans to reach a 10- million-tonne cement capacity in the east and 25 million tonnes in India.

“This is going to be a strategic unit for JSW Cement’s expansion in the east. The clinker produced here will feed the other plants in the region,” Jindal said.

A part of the clinker produced will also come to Salboni, where JSW has so far invested Rs 700 crore to build a 2.4-million-tonne grinding unit. The plant serves markets in Bengal and the Northeast region.

The Salboni unit is in the process of debottlenecking to 3 million tonnes.

“My aim is to put up a 5.5 million tonne grinding unit at Salboni, making it one of the largest such single location plants in the country,” Jindal added. A fresh investment of Rs 350 crore will be called for.

Clinker from Shiva Cement will effectively make the cement produced out of Salboni more competitive for the company.

Jindal said Rs 3,600 crore would be spent to reach the target of 25 million tonnes by 2025 from the present capacity of 14 million tonnes. The clinker plant will be commissioned by the end of the next fiscal.

IPO plan deferred

He also informed that an initial public offering of the company is now likely to be announced two years down the line.

“In 2019, the sector had degrowth, in 2020 Covid hit us. Now December 2022 is a logical timeline for us for the IPO,” he said.

However, the company, which is part of the $14-billion JSW Group having a presence in steel, power and port, may raise Rs 1,000-1,500 crore from private equity funds prior to the listing and has mandated Citi Bank for the job.