South India Cement Manufacturers Association Thanks the Hon’ble Finance Minister

Hyderabad : The South India Cement Manufacturers Association (SICMA) welcomes the historic budget of the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. At one stroke, the Hon’ble Finance Minister has addressed the various requests made by the Cement Producers from the South. The budget has special emphasis on infrastructure, particularly in the Southern States, not only on roads but also investments in the Metro Rail, the freight corridor from Vijayawada to Kharagpur.

      Ravinder Reddy, Director Marketing, Bharathi Cements,  Vice-President of SICMA

For the first time, infrastructure spending is going deep into the South, which is extremely welcome. The steps announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister to boost Realty Sector and affordable housing, will also help in giving a big fillip to cement demand.

SICMA has already represented to the Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Railways, that Road and infrastructure projects need special variety cement. Cement units in South are sitting on idle capacity, which can be utilised for the Infrastructure projects in Central, Eastern and North Eastern regions, by offering either a telescopic freight or a long lead discount, thus increasing Railway Traffic.

SICMA is of the view that the Southern States which account for more than 1/3" of India’s Limestone deposit have the potential to become a Cement Hub for future development across India as well as exports.