New Delhi, Mar 6 (UNI) GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric, today said it will lend Rs 75 crore to Binani Cement Ltd for construction of a 22.3 MW thermal power plant and associated common utilities in Sirohi, Rajasthan.

The company will also set up its first office in the country to pursue additional energy and water investments.

The move will enable Binani Cement, a subsidiary of Binani Industries Ltd, to meet its enhanced power requirements to expand cement production by April this year to 5.3 million tonnes annually from 2.25 million metric tonnes.

It also plans to build another 22.3 MW power plant and is proposing a public offer.

''India is a launching pad for our global growth, a platform to expand and serve customers in other key markets such as the West and East Asia,'' GE Energy Financial Services President and CEO Alex Urquhart said.

India's cement consumption, the world's second largest after China, is growing at nine per cent annually because of a boom in housing and infrastructure construction.

''For Binani, the power plant we're helping finance will cut costs by nearly four million dollars annually and provide a highly reliable electricity source,'' Managing Director and Head of Global Growth at GE Energy Financial Services Colleen Harkness said.

To penetrate into the Indian market, GE Energy Financial Services will open an office in New Delhi in the second quarter of this year, which will be headed by Mr Raghuveer Kurada.

In electric power alone, India has tremendous potential, with requirements of more than 100 gigawatts, which will require investments of around 200 billion dollars, including transmission and distribution.

UNI