 "Asian Bitumen 2015 conference in progress")
Enhanced expenditure on the infrastructure development and road network expansion is driving the demand for bitumen, a semi-solid hydrocarbon product produced from heavy crude oil during the refining process and widely used in road construction, in India.
With road infrastructure of 3.3 million km, India has the second largest road network in the world, second to USA. The current NDA government has kept the development of roads at a high priority by allocating more than 10 percent of the total spending for the same. In such a scenario, bitumen becomes an important parameter in planning and execution of road construction projects in India.
“Owing to the diverse climatic conditions, it requires better understanding of bitumen supply and demand in the country. In 2014-2015, total bitumen sales in India were 4.8 million metric tonnes. Bitumen products are being introduced at all the refineries in the country for the better performance of roads in India. This would go a long way in facilitating a smoother and faster road network in India,” said Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas during the Asian Bitumen 2015 conference, organised by Conference Connection, in New Delhi.
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Global bitumen demand is expected to reach 122 million tonnes in 2018 and the increasing road construction activities in the fast growing markets of China and India are expected to drive the growth of the bitumen market in Asia. India’s bitumen consumption will outpace production in the coming years as demand is expected to accelerate.
“The government’s huge plans for the road development in the country is leading to the increase in demand of bitumen in India. Presently, 90 percent of India’s road requirement is met by the local oil companies. The balance is imported. India also exports during the monsoon season from the east coast,” commented Ravikanth Reddy, CEO, Hotcrete Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.
