By Prasenjit Bhattacharya of Dow Jones Newswires NEW DELHI – India’s JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd. plans to invest 20 billion rupees in the next financial year that begins April 1 to set up new plants and expand production capacity, as it bets on the current phase of sluggish demand to abate in the long term. Managing Director Vinita Singhania said Thursday the company plans to expand its annual production capacity to 8.0 million to 9.0 million metric tons by the end of the next fiscal year. The company’s current capacity is 4.8 million tons, which is likely to rise to 5.3 million tons by March 31. The company is setting up a new cement plant in central India which would likely start operations by October or November 2013, Mr. Singhania said. She added that the company also plans to set up facilities to make ready-mix concrete. “I think the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong, and cement demand is bound to increase once infrastructure spending by the government picks up,� she added.

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