Indian cement production to rise by 10%

New Delhi : Cement production in India is predicted to increase by 10% this fiscal year and may touch the 300 million tonnes mark. This is the forecast given by Sumit Banerjee, who recently resigned from his position of Managing Director at ACC Ltd.

Banerjee predicts that this growth may be consistent for the next few years riding on the back of the rise in demand for housing and infrastructure.

The emerging trend of concrete roads will also contribute to the persistence of this growth for the next three to five years. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced plans to invest US$ 354 billion in the road system by 2012. The Indian road network is one of the largest in the world stretching to 3.3 million km.

Indian cement industry produced nearly 270 million tonnes of cement last year and about 230 million tonnes the year before.