Gulbarga set to be cement hub of the State

The district in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region is all set to shed its industrially-backward tag. As many as 12 large cement manufacturers are setting up shop in Gulbarga with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore generating 10,000 jobs.

Abundant availability of limestone, an essential raw material for cement, and rail connectivity have played a vital role in transforming the district into a cement hub of Karnataka. Seven per cent of the total limestone deposit in the country is said to be in the Gulbarga district.

Majority of the cement companies which signed memorandum of understanding to establish industries at the last year’s Global Investors’ Meet are now preparing to commence work on their plants. Cement majors - Vasavadatta, Rajashree, Zawar, Chetttinad, Lafarge, India Cements, Shree Cement, JK Cement etc - have obtained licence to build their factories. They have also submitted proposals for development of the necessary infrastructure.

Rajashree and Zawar have planned to increase their production at their Mulkhed and Shahabad plants.

Increase production

According to sources in District Industries Centre (DIC), Zawar has proposed to increase the production to 60 lakh tonnes per annum (tpa) from the present five lakh tpa.

It has also come forward to set up a 80 MW power generating unit for industrial purposes. The Rs 3,180-crore proposal includes technology upgrade, and generates 4,050 jobs.

The district administration has allowed India Cements to acquire 1,263 acres to set up a 20 lakh tpa plant at a cost of Rs 850 crore. Shree Cements will set up a 30 tpa plant investing Rs 1,000 crore in Sedam taluk. The DIC has okayed the proposal of the Vasavadatta Cement to expand its Sedam plant and the Orient Cements unit in Chittapur.

Proposal to expand

Sources said the expansion proposals of the ACC and HMP too are before the government and more players - Sagar, Zuari, Birla, Soorya have evinced interest to establish their units in the district. Karnataka stands seventh in the country in terms of cement production and would catapult to the second position if the projects in the pipeline materialise.