Mumbai, June 09, 2003: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has received an order from Lafarge Surma Cement Limited to build a 1.2 million tonnes per annum cement plant in Bangladesh. The order, valued at US$103.35 million, will be executed by L&T on a turnkey basis.
This cement plant will come up at Chhatak near Sylhet Town in Bangladesh. The limestone for the production of cement at this plant will be supplied from the Indian State of Meghalaya. The plant is expected to be commissioned by October 2005.

L&T won this order against stiff competition from international bidders. It is one of the largest contracts L&T has received for constructing a cement plant outside India. This contract will boost L&T's Engineering & Construction (E&C) business in the field of cement projects in this part of the world. In India, L&T is the largest player in the cement plant machinery business and has supplied cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 42 million tonnes of Ordinary Portland Cement.

The technology supplier for this project will be F.L. Smidth & Co., Denmark, with whom L&T has been associated for the last 4 decades. L&T's Construction Division, ECC will carry out the construction and erection works of the plant.

Lafarge Surma Cement Limited is jointly put up by Lafarge S.A. of France and its associate Cementos Molins S.A. of Spain. Lafarge S.A. is the largest producer of cement in the world.

Says Mr. K. Venkataramanan, Member of the Board and Executive Director in charge of L&T's E&C business, "This order reinforces our status as a reliable International EPC contractor since an MNC like Lafarge has reposed its faith in us."