National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has announced that it is planning to diversify into cement manufacturing and considering a joint venture associate to build four units in different parts of the country.

NTPC produces around 95 million tons of fly ash from its various units annually.

Fly ash is an important raw material for cement business.

According to the sources, NTPC intends to become a 50,000 megawatt capacity conglomerate by fiscal 2012, with an investment of US$ 36 billion.

The sources further revealed that NTPC`s coal fired power stations generate around 23 million tons of ash annually.

Established in 1975, NTPC is the sixth largest thermal power generator in the World.

Stock of NTPC ended well at Rs 151, up 4.85 percent on National Stock Exchange (NSE). The total volume of shares traded at the NSE was 6,216,434.