New Delhi, Dec. 17: The cement industry will invest Rs 50,000 crore to add 110 million tonnes of capacity over the next three years. This will push up the total production capacity in the country to about 275 million tonnes.

Stating this, H.M. Bangur, newly elected president of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association, said there was no shortage in the country except in areas where logistics was a problem.

On cement prices, Bangur said they were stable right now and would remain at existing levels for the next six months. “As there is neither shortage nor surplus at present, so chances of prices going up or down are equal,” he said.

The president of the cement body, who is also the managing director of Calcutta-based Shree Cement, said the price increase in April-November was less than three per cent and was lower than the inflation rate.

The industry body denied any cartelisation among manufacturers. During April-November, the country saw 7.72 per cent year-on-year growth in cement production, Bangur said. “India's economy is growing at nine per cent and it has fuelled the cement industry to grow at 10-11 per cent in the last two years,” he said, adding that growth of the industry was correlated with that of the country’s gross domestic product.