UP exhorts cement industry to explore infrastructure sector

The Uttar Pradesh government has exhorted the cement industry to explore the vast potential in the state infrastructure sector, especially roads and highways.

“We spend nearly Rs 10,000 crore on road infrastructure annually and probably run the world’s largest public private partnership (PPP) projects for the development of highways, including Ganga Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and the proposed Upper Ganga Canal,” state principal secretary of PWD Ravindra Singh said.

He was addressing a technical seminar on ‘Concrete Road Projects: Focusing on City Roads, Rural Roads & Technology’ organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the UP government and cement manufacturer ACC.

Singh said there was huge demand for cement in UP and tremendous scope for concrete road development, especially in areas with heavy movement of goods such as cane growing areas.

“The bitumen roads are sometimes preferred as it is easier to dig and repair for laying of telecom cables or water pipes vis-à-vis concrete roads. However, these aspects can be taken care of by private parties under PPP mode as some other states have already done,” he added.

The seminar showcased road construction plans of cities and rural India, adoption of new concrete road-building technology, role of equipment manufacturers and government initiatives on development of roads.

“Concrete roads are economic in the long term; they ensure a longer life as compared to conventional roads,” ACC managing director Sumit Banerjee said in his keynote address.

He said government budget constraints sometimes tilted the scales in favour of bitumen roads compared to concrete ones.

“The initial cost of concrete roads may be costlier by as much as 25-40 per cent, which is often cited as the single-most reason for rejecting this material. But, roads are national assets that need to be built to last for decades,” he added.

He maintained concrete roads were almost maintenance free and could last for as long as 50 years, if good drainage system was provided along such roads.

“If you factor in that concrete roads are maintenance-free in the first 2-3 decades of their construction…..the tables are turned after 20 years when the cost of concrete roads becomes cheaper by 10-15 per cent,” he added.

Banerjee referred to the fabled Mumbai’s Marine Drive, which he said was approaching 70 years and still endured.