Concrete
Where concrete roads can take us
Published
11 years agoon
By
admin
India has the second largest network of roads in the world. The 4,689,842 km network of roads in India, second only to and USA (6,586,610 km), is long enough to go around the Earth 117 times! The Earth has a circumference of 40,075 km, and perhaps that should give readers a perspective of the size of this mammoth network. Building and maintaining this crucial infrastructure is a huge task for the government. And the choice between concrete and bitumen for road pavements will be one of the most critical decisions that the government has to take.
The recently published white-paper on road infrastructure in India by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clearly underlines the huge challenge faced by the country. Of the total road tracks in the country, 1277791 km of roads in India (roughly 30 per cent) are yet to be surfaced. India has more than fifty-three National highways, but the total length constitutes only 1.5 per cent of the total road network in India. The short stretch carries nearly 40 per cent of the total road traffic, most of which is of heavy vehicles. The country has abysmal length of expressways. If India has to keep up with the growing traffic, the government will have to construct around 15,000 km of expressways in the next ten years. 25 per cent of villages in India still have poor road links. India also has the lowest kilometre lane road density per 100,000 people among G-27 countries leading to traffic congestion. The government has to give priority to upgrading road infrastructure if it envisages any sort of economic growth. There is a long way to go ahead.
No significant steps were taken in building this critical infrastructure during the last three decades. The rate of new highway construction across India accelerated after 1999, but had slowed later to the extent of total neglect in past few years. Policy delays and regulatory blocks reduced the rate of highway construction awards to just 500 kilometres of new road projects in 2013. The new government at the Centre realises the importance of good road network and has chalked out an ambitious plan to relay the road to development. After all, the national network carries over 65 per cent of freight and about 85 per cent of passenger traffic. Indian transportation sector contributes 4.7 per cent towards India?s gross domestic product.
In a country that is so immensely rich in its mineral resources, connecting the resources to the industry, and the industry to the end consumer is extremely necessary for the economic development of the nation. According to 2009 estimates by Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, India will need to invest US$1.7 trillion on infrastructure projects before 2020 to meet its economic needs. A major part of this investment should be in upgrading India?s road network.
The last three decades have seen the country slipping into a service-based economy while the manufacturing sector took the backseat. Now with the government focusing on reviving the manufacturing sector, road building and infrastructural support automatically becomes its top priority, since the infrastructure has to be in place before the manufacturing and distribution of the produce can be kick started. Apart from building more roads the government will have to start with the upgradation of the existing network. Only 2 per cent of the existing network is surfaced with concrete. Now that the government is looking at ways to better the existing infrastructure, it is of crucial importance that it moves in the right direction to tackle the challenge. While the most popular approach would be to lay bitumen on mud, it would be a much more sensible decision if the government opts for concrete pavements. The benefits of concrete road over bitumen road are well established and well known (also elaborated in Part I and Part II of this story published respectively in the July 2014 and August 2014 issues of ICR).
India was one of the earliest countries in the world to start building concrete roads. The first concrete road in India was built in Madras (Chennai) in 1914, which remained pot-hole free for a very long time despite the heavy rains in the region. The results encouraged engineers at that time to construct the Dehradun-Mussoorie Highway that had perennial problems of roads getting damaged due to extreme weather conditions. Soon the trend picked up and more and more concrete roads were laid in India. The original Delhi-Agra (NH2), Bombay-Poona (NH4) and Bangalore-Mysore roads were all built of concrete. Then in 1939, about 120 km of the Bombay-Poona road (present NH-4) and 110 km of the Bombay-Nashik road (present NH-3) were concreted. In the same year, Mumbai?s Marine Drive was constructed out of cement concrete. Marine Drive is still giving excellent service, even in its sixtieth year. The road has stood the test of time and the onslaught of saline sea water and humid climate. It is a perfect example of the value offered by concrete roads over bitumen. The Cement Manufacturers Association has communicated several benefits to the governmental bodies on plenty of occasions. If nothing, the potholes on the bitumen road alone are sufficient to convince the case of concrete over bitumen.
India?s annual expenditure on the road sector is around Rs 20,000-30,000 crore, 70 per cent of funds of which are spent on just maintaining the existing roads. This is a sheer wastage of the tax payers? money when better and well established technologies for building concrete roads are readily available. The country has both the raw material and the necessary expertise to build such roads ready at hand. Why should then tar roads be built by importing costly bitumen?
Those in favour of bitumen road often point to the initial cost of laying concrete roads, which is apparently 15 per cent higher than that of bitumen road. But with the rising cost of crude oil in the market, the gap is fast getting narrow and the difference now is negligible. The life cost advantage of concrete road far exceeds the initial cost difference between the two types. When it comes to cost comparison, the directive issued by Bureau of Indian Standards states that whenever an asset has to be created or built, and competing technologies/methods/materials for building the assets are available, the technology/method/material which gives the lowest life-cycle cost will be selected. Initial cost will not be the guiding factor. And in life-cycle cost, concrete roads with their low maintenance requirements, invariably turn out to be cheaper than bituminous ones. Today with fibre and steel fillers reinforced concrete available, the life cycle cost of the concrete roads may extend way beyond 60 – 70 years. Fly ash can substitute 30 per cent of cement in the concrete mix and can bring down the material cost dramatically. Cost is no longer an issue with concrete roads. On the other hand the maintenance of tar roads is expensive because they need to be resurfaced once every three years.
Having better roads built using indigenous raw material has its own benefits, but the merits go far below the surface performance of the pavement. One rough estimate is that even if only 50 per cent of the highways in India were to be resurfaced with concrete, it would engage the unused capacities of cement plants at least for the next decade. That will give a big boost to the sluggish cement sector which is currently struggling to raise a rupee in its cost per Kg just to stay afloat. In-fact the government may very well negotiate a mutually agreeable price with the cement companies and start rolling out cement-concrete highways. A long-term deal can help reduce the cost per of a bag of cement, which costs upwards of Rs 270 – Rs 300 a bag , by Rs 100 a bag, which is a discount of over 33 – 37 per cent.
With the assured business in hand, the industry can invest in plant upgradation, capacity building and employment generation. The industry today has 40 per cent of its installed capacity lying idle. The demand of cement and concrete will allow optimum utilisaton of the installed capacities. Imagine the domino effect of concrete road building activity on employment generation. Generally, every one- million-tonnes per annum (1 MTPA) of cement production requires around 400 skilled technical workers. The additional 40 per cent capacity utilisation will create employment for around 6000 skilled technicians in cement industry alone. It is estimated that the cement industry will require a total of 43,000 skilled technical workers for about 108 million tonnes of greenfield expansion, 17,000 for about 42 million tonnes of brownfield expansion and 6, 000 for 3000 MW captive power plant operation in this sector.
Consequent project upgradation will lead to employment of additional hands by the equipment manufacturing plants, component manufacturing units, concrete manufacturer and suppliers, logistics service providers, etc. Additionally the increased logistical needs of transporting raw material and the cement and concrete will boost employment for truck drivers. And finally the activity will perhaps create largest employment opportunity for the daily wage workers engaged in the concrete road building activity.
These new roads will open investment opportunities for new real estate projects, smart cities and industrial corridors along the new roadways and would infuse the growth cycle with new energy.
Road building is a longterm investment and a lot depends on the performance of these roads. It is imperative that as we commit to better infrastructure we do so in a well informed manner, that we derive value for hard earned tax payers? money. Yes we can look at our neighbours, USA, China, Russia and can take cues from them. Cement and concrete today is omnipresent and their is no reason to move in traditional fashion of building tar roads, tolerating potholes and then laying them with concrete on top.
The technology of laying bitumen road is fairly simple, at least for the way in which these roads are laid in India. And for precisely this reason, this sector is filled with unorganised and often unprofessional contractors who grab projects based on factors other than their technological merits. Laying concrete roads on the other hand requires significant technical expertise and creates a barrier for unprofessionals to enter. Shifting to concrete roads will offer a clean slate to begin with, where the babu-contractor nexus will come to an end, and where the government too will be able to present a corruption free road building authority to the public.
Looking over the merits of concrete over bitumen as a construction material and as a technology, which was discussed in the last two issues of ICR and also considering the social implications of the shift to concrete, it is clear that concrete roads will take us toward economic growth.
Why Concrete?
Durability and maintenance free life
Concrete roads have a rated service life of twenty five to thirty years (more in reality), whereas asphalt roads theo- cratically last for ten years at the most.
Frequent repair and associated costs
Concrete road do not require frequent repair or patching work like asphalt roads.
Vehicles consume less fuel
Vehicles on concrete roads, consumes 15-20% less fuel than that on asphalt roads since, a concrete road does not get deflected under the wheels of loaded trucks.
Inert nature
Concrete roads do not get damaged by the leaking oils from the vehicles or by the extreme weather conditions like excess rain or extreme heat.
Greener construction process
Bitumen produces lots of highly polluting gases at the time of melting it for paving. Also, less fuel consumption by the vehicle running on a concrete road means less pollution.
Conserves natural resources
Bitumen is produced from imported petroleum, a non renewable resource. On the other hand, concrete (cement) is produced from abundantly available limestone. Precious foreign exchange is saved if we opt for concrete pavements.
Durability
Heavy rain and other extreme weather conditions damage the asphalt road, and the roads need to be repaired frequently.
Light reflectivity
Concrete reflects light better than the black coloured bitumen road. As a result the requirement for road lighting is reduced by half saving electrical energy and giving better visibility at night.
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Milind Khangan, Marketing Head, Vertex Market Research, sheds light on Adani’s rapid cement consolidation under its ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy while positioning it to rival UltraTech, and thus, shaping a potential duopoly in India’s booming cement market.
India is the second-largest cement-producing country in the world, following China. This expansion is being driven by tremendous public investment in the housing and infrastructure sectors. The industry is accelerating, with a boost from schemes such as PM Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, and the Vande Bharat corridors. An upsurge in affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) further supports this expansion. In May 2025, local cement production increased about 9 per cent from last year to about 40 million metric tonnes for the month. The combined cement capacity in India was recorded at 670 million metric tonnes in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). For the financial year 2026, this is set to grow by another 9 per cent.
In spite of the growing demand, the Indian cement industry is highly competitive. UltraTech Cement (Aditya Birla Group) is still the market leader with domestic installed capacity of more than 186 MTPA as on 2025. It is targeted to achieve 200 MTPA. Adani Cement recently became a major player and is now India’s second-largest cement company. It did this through aggressive consolidation, operational synergies, and scale efficiencies. Indian players in the cement industry are increasingly valuing operational efficiency and sustainability. Some of the strategies with high impact are alternative fuels and materials (AFR) adoption, green cement expansion, and digital technology investments to offset changing regulatory pressure and increasing energy prices.
Building Adani Cement brand
Vertex Market Research explains that the Adani Group is executing a comprehensive reorganisation and consolidation of its cement business under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy. The plan is to integrate its diversified holdings into one consolidated corporate entity named Adani Cement. The focus is on operating integration, governance streamlining, and cost reduction in its expanding cement business.
Integration roadmap and key milestones:
- September 2022: The consolidation process started with the $6.4 billion buyout of Holcim’s majority stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC, with Ambuja becoming the focal point of the consolidation.
- December 2023: Bought Sanghi Industries to strengthen the firm’s presence in western India.
- August 2024: Added Penna Cement to the portfolio, improving penetration of the southern market of India.
- April 2025: Further holding addition in Orient Cement to 46.66 per cent by purchasing the same from CK Birla Group, becoming the promoter with control.
- Ambuja Cements amalgamated with Adani Cement: This was sanctioned by the NCLT on 18th July 2025 with effect from April 1, 2024. This amalgamation brings in limestone reserves and fresh assets into Ambuja.
- Subject to Sanghi and Penna merger with Ambuja: Board approvals in December 2024 with the aim to finish between September to December 2025.
- Ambuja-ACC future integration: The latter is being contemplated as the final step towards consolidation.
- Orient Cement: It would serve as a principal manufacturing facility following the merger.
Scale, capacity expansion and market position
In financial year-2025, Adani Cement, including Ambuja, surpassed 100 MTPA. This makes it one of the world’s top ten cement companies. Along with ACC’s operations, it is now firmly placed as India’s second-largest cement company. In FY25, the Adani group’s sales volume per annum clocked 65 million metric tonnes. Adani Group claims that it now supplies close to 30 per cent of the cement consumed in India’s homes and infrastructure as of June 2025.
The organisation is pursuing aggressive brownfield expansion:
- By FY 2026: Reach 118 MTPA
- By FY 2028: Target 140 MTPA
These goals will be driven by commissioning new clinker and grinding units at key sites, with civil and mechanical works underway.
As of 2024, Adani Cement had its market share pegged at around 14 to 15 per cent, with an ambition to scale this up to 20 per cent by FY?2028, emerging as a potent competitor to UltraTech’s 192?MTPA capacity (186 domestic and overseas).
Strategic advantages and competitive benefits
The consolidation simplifies decision-making by reducing legal entities, centralising oversight, and removing redundant functions. This drives compliance efficiency and transparent reporting. Using procurement power for raw materials and energy lowers costs per ton. Integrated logistics with Adani Ports and freight infrastructure has resulted in an estimated 6 per cent savings in logistics. The group aims for additional savings of INR 500 to 550 per tonne by FY 2028 by integrating green energy, using alternative fuel resources, and improving sourcing methods.
Market coverage and brand consistency
Brand integration under one strategy will provide uniform product quality and easier distribution networks. Integration with Orient Cement’s dealer base, 60 per cent of which already distributes Ambuja/ACC products, enhances outreach and responsiveness.
By having captive limestone reserves at Lakhpat (approximately 275 million tonnes) and proposed new manufacturing facilities in Raigad, Maharashtra, Adani Cement derives cost advantage, raw material security, and long-term operational robustness.
Strategic implications and risks
Consolidation at Adani Cement makes it not just a capacity leader but also an operationally agile competitor with the ability to reap digital and sustainability benefits. Its vertically integrated platform enables cost leadership, market responsiveness, and scalability.
Challenges potentially include:
- Integration challenges across systems, corporate cultures, and plant operations
- Regulatory sanctions for pending mergers and new capacity additions
- Environmental clearances in environmentally sensitive areas and debt management with input price volatility
When materialised, this revolution would create a formidable Adani–UltraTech duopoly, redefining Indian cement on the basis of scale, innovation, and sustainability. India’s leading four cement players such as Adani (ACC and Ambuja), Dalmia Cement, Shree Cement, and UltraTech are expected to dominate the cement market.
Conclusion
Adani’s aggressive consolidation under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy signals a decisive shift in the Indian cement industry, positioning the group as a formidable challenger to UltraTech and setting the stage for a potential duopoly that could dominate the sector for years to come. By unifying operations, leveraging economies of scale, and securing vertical integration—from raw material reserves to distribution networks—Adani Cement is building both capacity and resilience, with clear advantages in cost efficiency, market reach, and sustainability. While integration complexities, regulatory hurdles, and environmental approvals remain key challenges, the scale and strategic alignment of this consolidation promise to redefine competition, pricing dynamics, and operational benchmarks in one of the world’s fastest-growing cement markets.
About the author:
Milind Khangan is the Marketing Head at Vertex Market Research and comes with over five years of experience in market research, lead generation and team management.
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Series K – Right Angle Helical Bevel Geared Motors: For industries seeking high efficiency and torque-heavy performance, Series K is the answer. This right-angled geared motor series delivers torque up to 50,000 Nm, making it a preferred choice in core infrastructure sectors such as cement, power, mining, and material handling. Its flexibility in mounting and broad motor options offer engineers’ freedom in design and reliability in execution.
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