Cement sector on steady growth path, says industry body

Despite an economic slowdown and slump in the housing sector, the cement sector continues to be steady with another 50 million tonnes capacity to be added this year, a top industry official has said.        

The demand for cement has not come down. However, it remains to be seen what infrastructure policies are pursued after a new government takes over, Cement Manufacturers' Association President H M Bangur told PTI on the sidelines of a conference here.        

The two-day event, Green Cementech 2009, was organised to discuss steps to make Indian cement plants world class. If the country's GDP grows at 7 per cent, the cement industry is expected to expand by 9 per cent to 10 per cent, he said.        

About realty sector, Bangur said, "when we say housing, we think about urban housing and real estate developers as the face of the industry. But they (developers) constitute only 5 per cent of the cement demand. In rural and semi-urban areas, where land is comparatively cheaper, construction activity has picked up."        

Although Government had taken up new initiatives on infrastructure, they are still inadequate, said Bangur, who is also Chairman and Managing Director of Shree Cements.

Power sector needs to double the pace of growth but that is not possible till money is available. Therefore, the new Government will have to come out with more subsidies and funds for the key sector, Bangur said.        

Speaking about the future trend, he said the current cement output capacity is 200 million tonnes and another 50 million tonnes will be added this year. Later addressing the conference, he said the industry was set to raise the production of environment-friendly green cement, made of magnesium silicates instead of limestone.        

Stating that the cement industry was no more polluting, he stressed the need to build concrete roads which in turn lead to fuel saving.     Tar roads in a tropical country like India is a mistake. Concrete roads are a better solution, Bangur said.        

Earlier, 3 per cent of the total roads were made of concrete but now the figure has now come down, he said. Even if there is half a per cent increase in concrete roads, their will be dramatic saving in fuel consumption, Bangur added.