Crown Cement PLC is going to increase its annual production capacity by 40 per cent this year by establishing its sixth manufacturing facility, which will turn it into the country's fourth largest cement manufacturer.
The company will go for the expansion investing around Tk 764 crore which is being availed from local and foreign banks.
A "significant" portion is being secured from an overseas lender while Tk 25 crore from a syndicated loan facility.
Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) arranged the syndicated loan facility and a deal was signed in this regard at Sheraton Dhaka on May 25, according to a press release.
The others involved in this facility are the State Bank of India, Bank Asia Limited and Dhaka Bank Limited.
"We are increasing the capacity of production to meet growing demand for cement in Bangladesh and boost exports to neighbouring 'The Seven Sisters' Indian states," said Mohammed Jahangir Alam, chairman of Crown Cement.
"We are expanding to a 6th production facility where 8,500 tonnes of cement will be produced per day. We are investing around Tk 764 crore for the facility," he said.
According to Alam, with the new unit in operation, the total production capacity of Crown Cement PLC will reach approximately 19,500 tonnes per day whereas currently it is around 11,000 tonnes per day.
According to his estimates, its annual production capacity would increase to 4.62 million tonnes from an existing 3.3 million tonnes.
The new facilities will be established next to the company's existing Muktarpur factory in Munshiganj, said Masud Kahan, chief adviser of Crown Cement PLC.
"We have a target to go into commercial production in November this year and setting up of the equipment is almost complete," he noted.
Regarding the investment, he said a significant percentage has come from an overseas lender. He did not state the name of the entity.
According to him, the company was using modern equipment, most of it from Germany and a very small portion from China, which adhered to environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and produced high-quality cement.
The expansion will turn Crown Cement PLC into the fourth largest cement manufacturer in Bangladesh in terms of annual production capacity, according to Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association.
Currently Shah Cement Ltd, a concern of Abul Khair Group, has the highest annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes, followed by Premier Cement Mills PLC (5.2 million tonnes) and Bashundhara Cement, a concern of Bashundhara Group (5 million tonnes).
