India plans to build 15, 600 kilometers of expressways by 2022 at a cost of more than $100 billion, and the concrete industry needs to be prepared for increasing demand, says the country’s transport minister. Starting in April, India’s daily average construction rate of 9 km of roads may increase to 20 km, says Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath.
Nath spoke at the National Seminar on Concrete Highway Projects, held in New Delhi last month, at which sponsors emphasized sustainability and quality. According to Sumit Banerjee, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, barely 40% of the country’s total road length is paved and much of it is of questionable quality. Only a paltry 2% of total roads in the country are made of concrete; the rest are composed largely of bitumen-based products such as asphalt, he says.