KEI Industries has begun trial production of cables at the greenfield Sanand plant in Gujarat, as part of the project’s first phase.
In a recent investor conference, the senior management of KEI Industries Ltd said that trial production of cables at the Sanand greenfield plant in Gujarat began in December 2025.
The company has incurred total capital expenditure of Rs.1,300 crore so far on the Sanand plant. This includes Rs.800 crore incurred in the first nine months (9M: April to December) of FY26, and around Rs.500 crore in FY25.
Trial production of LT cables has begun, and capacity will be ramped up gradually during the fourth quarter (Q4: January to March) of FY26.
By April 2026, KEI will be commissioning an e-beam facility at the Sanand plant that will be used for producing solar DC cables.
By July or August 2026, capacities for medium voltage (MV) cables will be ramped up. Further, by March 2027, facilities for manufacturing of extra high voltage (EHV) cables will be put up.
Thus, the Sanand plant will be commissioned, in all respects by March 2027.
According to information previously released by KEI, the capacity of the Sanand plant, on full operations, will be around Rs.6,000 crore per year. Of this Rs.4,800 crore will be for LT/MV cables and the remaining Rs.1,200 crore for EHV cables.
KEI’s overall capacity, excluding Sanand, currently stands at around Rs.12,500 crore per year.
New projects
KEI expects to incur capital expenditure of Rs.2,000 crore over the next 2-3 years, apart from the Sanand plant. The company has planned to set up new units at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and at Vadodara in Gujarat. Land for both the projects has been acquired, it is learnt.
EHV cables
KEI currently manufactures EHV cables up to 400kV at its Chopanki plant in Rajasthan. The current capacity of this plant is around Rs.650 crore per year. At Sanand, KEI plans to manufacture EHV cables with rating up to 500kV.
KEI has a strong presence in the EHV cable market. It has supplied 330kV cables to Australia and 220kV cables to the Middle East and Spain. KEI is also understood to be the only Indian company to qualify in National Grid UK framework agreement for maximum voltages up to 400kV.
KEI has also expanded its reach to the Caribbean Islands and is currently supplying to West Indies and many other neighboring countries. In UAE, KEI has bagged three contracts for supply of 132kV cables and gaining acceptance as an EHV in the Middle East, the KEI management noted.
Order book
As of December 31, 2025, KEI had an order book of Rs.3,928 crore out of which EPC projects accounted for Rs.361 crore while the remaining Rs.3,567 crore pertained to the wire & cable segment. Within this, Rs.2,426 crore pertained to domestic wire & cables. Export orders were worth Rs.424 crore while EHV cables accounted for the remaining Rs.717 crore.
Also read: KEI Industries does well on exports front in H1FY26
Featured photograph (source: KEI Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2024-25) is for representation only