UltraTech Cement hits 200 MTPA capacity, targets 2028

Milestone driven by three new units

Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla virtually inaugurated three new UltraTech Cement units at Patratu in Jharkhand, Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The commissioning pushed UltraTech’s domestic cement capacity past 200 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The company had flagged 200 MTPA as a medium-term target, and the milestone further entrenches its leadership in India’s cement industry. Birla marked the achievement with an address in Mumbai, linking the expansion to confidence in India’s manufacturing base. He also said the pace of scale-up is unusual for the cement sector. UltraTech, he added, is the world’s largest cement maker outside China. The remarks came amid a broader industry race on capacity additions and acquisitions.

What Kumar Mangalam Birla said in Mumbai

Birla said UltraTech’s capacity has risen from about 60 MTPA around a decade ago to over 200 MTPA now. He framed the milestone as more than a corporate inflection point, describing it as evidence of an economy building consistently and at increasing speed. Birla also said UltraTech’s growth reflects a vote of confidence for India’s manufacturing industry. In his remarks, he positioned cement as a critical input to national infrastructure building. He cited the expansion of India’s highway and metro networks as indicators of the underlying demand backdrop. The statement also underlined how capacity growth is being paced alongside public infrastructure build-out.

Capacity targets now extend to 2028

Birla said UltraTech retains a target of 240 MTPA by 2028. He added that ongoing expansion is being funded through a Rs 16,000 crore capital expenditure plan. Separately, he said UltraTech has invested over Rs 50,000 crores over the past seven years to support India’s changing infrastructure landscape. He also announced a “fresh commitment” of Rs 13,000 crores. These numbers, as presented, point to a multi-year expansion push rather than a single-cycle capex burst. The company’s expansion is being executed through a mix of greenfield and brownfield projects, alongside acquisitions. Birla specifically referenced acquisitions including Jaypee, Binani, Century, Kesoram, and India Cements.

Quarterly commissioning updates: Dhule and Nathdwara

UltraTech said its capacity expansion programme continues at a strong pace. During the quarter referenced in the provided material, the company commissioned 0.6 MTPA at its grinding unit at Dhule Cement Works in Maharashtra. It also commissioned 1.2 MTPA at the integrated unit at Nathdwara Cement Works in Rajasthan. These additions are part of the company’s ongoing organic expansion pipeline. Such incremental commissioning is typically used to reduce the “lumpiness” of capacity expansion, while keeping utilisation and logistics planning manageable. The company’s disclosures also show that both grinding and integrated capacity are being added in parallel.

Next phase: 22.8 MTPA under execution

UltraTech, along with its subsidiary India Cements Limited, has initiated the next phase of expansion to add 22.8 MTPA. The plan uses a mix of brownfield and greenfield projects, and work was stated to be progressing as scheduled. After completion of this phase, the company expects to reach a capacity of 240.76 MTPA. That figure provides a more precise end-point than the rounded 240 MTPA target cited elsewhere. The sequencing suggests UltraTech is building a pipeline that continues beyond simply crossing 200 MTPA. The role of India Cements as part of the consolidated footprint is also explicitly highlighted in the expansion plan.

AGM disclosures: FY25 additions and FY26 trajectory

In his speech at UltraTech’s twenty-fifth Annual General Meeting, Birla said the company is on track to cross 200 MTPA capacity in FY26, a full year ahead of the original FY27 goal. He said UltraTech added 42.6 MTPA of capacity during FY25. Of this, 16.3 MTPA was added through organic expansion, while 26.3 MTPA came through strategic acquisitions, notably India Cements and the cement division of Kesoram Industries. As of March 2025, UltraTech’s consolidated capacity stood at 188.8 MTPA. In the June quarter of FY26, the company added an additional 3.5 MTPA of grey cement capacity, taking the total to 192.26 MTPA. Birla also said nearly 70% of capital expenditure is focused on growth.

Infrastructure build-out as a demand backdrop

Birla linked UltraTech’s scale-up to India’s infrastructure expansion over the last decade. He said India’s highway network has expanded by nearly 60%, and the metro network by nearly 350%. He also said daily road construction has tripled to 35 kilometres a day. In his framing, when construction accelerates at that scale, cement becomes a national development asset rather than only an industrial material. These datapoints were used to contextualise UltraTech’s investment and capacity ramp-up. They also align with the company’s emphasis on being positioned for infrastructure-led demand.

Competitive landscape: Adani’s Ambuja expansion targets

UltraTech’s capacity push is unfolding amid rising competition in the cement sector. Adani Group, through Ambuja Cements, crossed 100 MTPA capacity in FY25. Ambuja has set a target of 118 MTPA by FY26 and 140 MTPA by FY28, primarily via brownfield expansions and acquisitions, as stated in the provided material. The comparison underscores how scale is increasingly becoming a key competitive lever in Indian cement. For UltraTech, moving from 188.8 MTPA in March 2025 to crossing 200 MTPA in FY26 also signals accelerated execution against earlier timelines.

Market impact: what investors tracked

UltraTech Cement shares were noted as being in focus after Birla’s AGM comments on crossing 200 MTPA by the end of the fiscal year. The stock closed 0.7% higher at Rs 12,855.70 on the BSE on Tuesday, according to the provided text. The focus for investors, based on the disclosures, includes the pace of commissioning, the balance between organic additions and acquisitions, and the capex commitments tied to the 2028 capacity target. Another capex indicator cited in the supplied material is a stated plan of Rs 9,000-10,000 crore for FY26, attributed to Managing Director K.C. Jhanwar in the annual report. Together, these datapoints place spending, execution timing, and consolidation benefits at the centre of how the market may track progress.

Key facts at a glance

Conclusion

UltraTech’s commissioning of new units across Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh has taken its domestic capacity past 200 MTPA, aligning with Birla’s stated medium-term milestone. AGM disclosures add granularity on how the company moved from 188.8 MTPA in March 2025 to 192.26 MTPA after Q1 FY26 additions, and why it expects to cross 200 MTPA within FY26. The next phase of 22.8 MTPA expansion, along with the stated 240.76 MTPA end-capacity after completion, keeps the focus on execution timelines. UltraTech’s capex commitments and acquisition-led scale-up remain central as the sector sees aggressive capacity targets from peers as well.