Saint-Gobain to invest $250 Mn in Rajasthan

Chennai: The Indian arm of French float-glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain is setting up a 300,000 tonne plant at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan with an investment of 10 billion ($250 million), top company officials said.

The new plant will take the company's capacity to 750,000 tonnes per annum, as its 15 billion unit at Sriperumbudur near here has a capacity of 450,000, Saint-Gobain India managing director B. Santhanam told a press conference here.

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"The investment in the first phase of the new unit will be 10 billion," said Santhanam, who is also president of the group's float glass division for South Asia.

�There is adequate cash generation to meet the capital expenditure," said Anand Y. Mahajan, general delegate, South Asia, Saint-Gobain. "There are options like borrowing locally or in Europe or inter-corporate borrowing from group outfits."

Explaining the rationale for the proposed investment in Rajasthan, Santhanam said the logistics cost is around 15 percent of sales realisation; this would be reduced as the plant will be near the targeted market - northern India.

He said the company and the Rajasthan government have discussed the project, that will require around 150 acres of land.

Saint-Gobain gets just a shade less than a third of its total sales from northern and western India, while east accounts the least.

According to Santhanam, the domestic glass industry is growing at 18-20 percent anually since 2000 on the back of economic growth and a booming construction sector.

The high-end realty segment, where glass has become an integral part of design, is growing faster.

"Trends like the green building movement have encouraged usage of glass in a more evolved manner," he added.
Source: IANS