Concrete

Span of Success

Published

5 years ago

July 1, 2021

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Hyderabad certainly has reason to celebrate! The newly constructed Durgam Cheruvu cable-stay bridge eases traffic and reduces commute time. What?? more, it has set a record for being the world?? longest precast segmental span of 233.85-m in concrete on a cable-stay bridge. Constructed under Telangana?? Strategic Road Development Programme, and recently inaugurated by KT Rama Rao, Minister of Municipal Administration & Urban Development Industries, IT&C, Telangana, the construction of the bridge was completed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and it was dedicated to the people of the city.

??ur association with this young state of Telangana has been rich and we are proud to have delivered yet another pearl to the City of Pearls,??says SN Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro. ??nfrastructure development should ultimately improve the life of citizens and this bridge will certainly improve connectivity within the city of Hyderabad manifold. We are also grateful to the Telangana Government for having reposed their faith in us once again to deliver world-class infrastructure once again. And we are happy to have delivered to their complete satisfaction.??/p>

Speaking on the USP of the bridge, SV Desai, Whole-Time Director & Senior Executive Vice-President (Civil Infrastructure), L&T, elaborates, ??t has the world?? longest precast segmental span of 233.85-m in concrete for a cable stay bridge. We have constructed it despite extremely challenging conditions and terrain using a total of 428 mt of high-tensile strand, 26,600 cu m of concrete, 4,800 mt of steel and 287 mt of stay cables. We are happy we delivered the project in time even during these unprecedent times of the pandemic.??/p>

While the entire bridge with its approaches at both ends is 764.38 m, the cable-stayed bridge portion is 435-m long and 25.8-m wide with a total of 52 stay cables. The 53 CC (cement concrete) segments of the bridge are supported by stay cables sourced from Germany. The approach viaduct and solid ramps are 309.8-m long with 1.8-m wide footpaths on both sides.

Hyderabad is another Indian metro notorious for its traffic and this bridge will ease traffic flow towards HITEC City. Studies have revealed that the average time taken to reach the ITC Junction from Jubilee Hills (Road No. 45) is anywhere between 25 minutes and 30 minutes. The Durgam Cheruvu bridge will reduce commute time from Jubilee Hills to Madhapur from 30 minutes to a mere 10 minutes and the distance from Mind Space to Jubilee Hills by 2 km.

Why an extradosed cable-stay bridge?

An extradosed bridge is a cross between a girder and a conventional cable-stayed bridge, wherein the deck is directly supported by the pylon and the tension of the cables acts more to support it vertically. The cable stay acts as a prestressing cable for the concrete deck. Hence, the deck is comparatively thinner and the span length more in an extradosed bridge. Precast engineering has significantly reduced execution time and costs.

The world?? longest precast segmental span

The bridge has the world?? longest precast segmental span of 233.85-m in concrete for a cable-stay bridge. Although extradosed bridges are commonly constructed using the balanced cantilever erection method, in this case, a back span was constructed with complete staging from the ground and then the main span was constructed by cantilever erection with precast segment using a derrick crane.

Speedy construction

The precast segments were made ready by the time the anchor spans were casted in-situ, which speeded up construction. Precast segments of 3.5-m length and weighing 155 tonne were cast or fabricated in a casting yard and transported to site for erection while the derrick crane was designed and fabricated by L&T.

Challenging conditions and terrain

The bridge has been constructed in extremely challenging conditions and terrain with a lot of the work happening at 20-m above ground or above water. Executed within contractual stipulations, the 4.7-m depth of the precast elements was a challenge as was the task of transporting the huge precast elements from the casting yard through the busy, round-the-clock traffic near the site and erecting them at site. A unique aspect of the project was the casting yard that was synchronised with a load-out jetty that substantially reduced cycle time.

The bridge is equipped with aesthetically pleasing, first-of-its-kind carriageway lighting and will be a major recreational and tourist attraction for citizens with its specially designed footpath. Apart from the cables and the lighting system, everything else has been sourced from India making this bridge a shining example of the ??ake in India??movement.

– SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

22 hours ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

4 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

5 days ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.