HeidelbergCement of Germany enters India

New Delhi, Mar 22 (UNI) Germany's HeidelbergCement AG today announced its entry into the Indian market by forming a cement production joint venture with Indorama Cement Ltd.

The 50:50 joint venture will begin operations using Indorama's existing grinding pant in Mumbai.

However, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

''We want to expand our activities in this very promising market in a step-by-step fashion,'' HeidelbergCement AG chief executive Bernd Scheifele said.

''This investment in India fits our strategy of targeting investments in growing markets.'' The Mumbai plant has a cement capacity of 750,000 tonnes.

The approval procedure for the construction of a clinker plant in Gujarat has been started.

India is the world's second largest cement market after China, with demand up by about 7.5 per cent per year over the last decade.

Since per capita consumption of around 125kg is one of the lowest in Asia, an average growth of 8 per cent to 9 per cent is expected for the years to come.

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