Coal news and updates

Malabar Cements Kochi unit to start ops by end-2017

Malabar Cements Limited, a fully-owned Government of Kerala undertaking, expects its new cement plant in Kochi to be operational by the end of 2017, the company’s Managing Director K Padmakumar told ICMW.

The company is setting up a 0.60 million tons per annum (mtpa) cement plant within Cochin Port Trust premises in Kochi at an investment of Rs 160 crore, he said.

Operationalisation of the new plant will increase the company’s cement production capacity to 1.3 mtpa from the current 0.62 mtpa, he said.

Malabar Cements’s existing plants are in Waayar (0.42 mtpa) and Cherthala (0.2 mtpa grinding unit) in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.

Expecting the proposed Kochi plant to be a game changer for the company, Padmakumar said major consumers would be tied up to garner one fourth of Kerala cement market.

Currently, Malabar Cements enjoys 10% market share in Kerala.

Padmakumar said, “While the industry is growing 2%-3% annually, Malabar Cements is experiencing 16% growth per annum. With the new plant, the company would hope to keep the momentum.”