JP Cement-Bhilai Steel Plant agree on JV

Bilaspur, July 14: Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship unit of the government-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), has agreed to enter into a joint venture with cement manufacturer JP Cement to set up a cement factory here.

JP Cement's Vice-President Prem Prakash told reporters here that the newly-floated company -- JP Bhilai Cement Ltd -- is the first joint venture between a PSU and a corporate group.

However, the group has long been collaborating with several state-owned companies in hydro-power and thermal-power sectors.

Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand are only states in India where growth rate is over 21 per cent. The former would be the most preferred priority area for marketing of the cement produced by the new company.

JP group has also ventured into ACC cement Sheet market, as traditional housing structures and techniques are no longer in practice in rural areas where ACC sheets and RCC rooftops are replacing traditional rooftops.

UNI