The Aditya Birla Group plans to invest Rs 7,000 crore to expand its cement capacity to maintain its forte and leadership in the cement sector in India. A final decision on the expansion is likely to be taken within two months. The group plans to set up three greenfield facilities by 2014 which are likely to come up in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Construction work for these facilities is likely to commence in a year. The orders for supply of equipment are likely to be placed by June 2010.

The group's cement capacity is likely to go up from existing 48.8 to around 62 million tonne per annum (mtpa), post expansion. The expansion is to be funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt.

The group is currently restructuring its cement business by divesting the cement operations of Grasim, into an intermediate firm called Samruddhi Cement, which will eventually be merged with UltraTech Cement. The restructuring plan is likely to be completed by June 2010.