- Italcementi Group

The new line under construction at the Yerraguntla cement plant in Andhra Pradesh (India) is one of the strategic projects that Italcementi Group has confirmed as a priority for 2009 together with those at Ait Baha (Morocco), Martinsburg (North America) and Matera (Italy). Zuari Cement, the Indian subsidiary of Italcementi Group, is expanding the production capacity of its Yerraguntla plant by installing a second burning line with a designed production capacity of 2,3 Mill tons of cement per year and adopting top-of-range technical solutions with a particular focus on energy performance.

Yerraguntla is an ideal median point between Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore with a potential market target represented by the approx. 250 million people inhabiting the four Southern Indian states.

Work on site – as at may 2009:

Engineering: 99% complete
Material Supply: 91% complete
Civil engineering works: 70% complete
Mechanical works: 55% complete
Electrical / I&C works: 25% complete
Main 132 kV sub-station (2 x 20/25 MVA): 100% complete / energized on March 3, 2009

Revamping of the cement plant has called for an extraordinary effort from both a logistic and organizational perspective. The construction work, coordinated by CTG, the Group Technical Center, has engaged almost 3,000 people working on site. To date, 70% of the civil engineering works have been completed. The kiln is expected to be in operation by the second half of this year.

As for all new investments made in recent years by Italcementi, the new Yerraguntla line is not only of enormous importance from a strategic point of view, but it is also on the cutting edge in terms of environmental efficiency and the quality standards of the end product.

The Group confirms once more its commitment to environmental sustainability and, in respect of the industrial production needs, to the use of the Best Available Technologies, with a particular focus on energy performance. The new burning line will help to improve the overall energy efficiency of the production line, by keeping the heat consumption below 3,000 MJ per ton of clinker (2,965 MJ/t) setting a new reference for the Group, while also favouring extremely low levels of CO2 and NOx emissions (NOx forecast to be <400mg/Nm3).

Italcementi Group joined the Indian market in January 2001 with the purchase of the Yerraguntla (Zuari Cement) cement plant, in the south of the state of Andhra Pradesh. One year later, it was purchased a company with a production plant located in Sitapuram, in the north of Andhra Pradesh, near the capital Hyderabad.