Chennai: As informed by Tamilnadu Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu in the State Assembly, the prices of cement in the State are likely to dip further after the Government’s own brand ‘Valimai’, entered the market.
‘The government’s move will bring down cement prices and give momentum to construction activities,” says a contractor and industry expert.
The Minister recalled the steps taken by the governemnt to bring down the prices of cement and said the State government has launched a brand ‘Valimai’ cement and once the brand enters the open market the price of cement bags will dip further.
He also said that the State government has set a target of increasing the cement production capacity to 18.86 metric tonnes (MT).
With the establishment of a new cement manufacturing plant with the capacity of 10 MT the existing cement production capacity will be increased to 17 MT.
However, the State has fixed a target of increasing the production to 18.86 MT and after increasing the capacity, goverment cement will be sold in the open market after which the price of cement will decrease, Thennarasu said.
The Minister said the price of cement stood at Rs 420 per bag in January this year. As the prices further increased to Rs 490 in June, based on the orders of Chief Minister M K Stalin, a meeting with cement manufacturers was held on 16 June in which the cement manufacturers were asked to lower the prices.
Following the meeting, the cement price was reduced to Rs 450 per bag which at present till 31 August, was sold t Rs 420 per bag.
Once the government’s brand ‘Valimai’ hits the market, the prices will further come down, the Minister said.