Ramco plans construction chemicals unit at AP plant

Chennai: Ramco Cements plans to invest Rs 20 crore in a new construction chemicals manufacturing unit at its Kolimigundla plant in Andhra Pradesh, even as it sticks to its Rs 800 crore capital expenditure plan for the current fiscal. The company also plans to raise about Rs 150 crore through the sale of non-core assets.The proposed unit for construction chemicals will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 lakh tonnes and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of FY28, according to the company’s investor presentation.Though Ramco has been present in the construction chemicals business for more than two decades, it has sharpened its focus on the segment in recent years, banking on its growth potential. Last year, it unveiled a new brand identity for the business, Hard Worker. The domestic construction chemicals market is projected to reach Rs 40,000 crore by 2030.The company’s construction chemicals sales volume rose to 2.04 lakh tonnes in Q2FY27 from 1.48 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period and 1.35 lakh tonnes in Q1FY27. Revenue from the business grew 31% to Rs 217 crore in the first half of FY27. Ramco has set a target of clocking revenue of Rs 2,000 crore in this business over the next four years.Ramco monetised Rs 1,098 crore through non-core asset sales in the last two years. It has identified further assets worth about Rs 150 crore for disposal in the near term, of which Rs 29 crore was realised in the first half of FY27.The company spent Rs 373 crore on capital expenditure in the first half of FY27, with its full-year capex guidance unchanged at Rs 800 crore.Ramco completed the debottlenecking of its Jayanthipuram plant in Q2 FY27, adding 0.73 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to its capacity and taking its total cement capacity to 27.17 MTPA.The company aims to increase its cement capacity to about 31 MTPA by March 2027, with the commissioning of Line 2 at Kolimigundla. The 3.15 MTPA clinker unit at the facility is expected to be commissioned ahead of schedule, by December 2026.A 15 MW waste heat recovery system (WHRS) is also expected to be commissioned alongside Line 2, strengthening the company’s capacity to generate green power.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.