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AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable

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Narayan Saboo, Chairman, Bigbloc Construction, discusses the qualities of AAC blocks and its environmentally friendly properties.

What is the composition of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks?
AAC is a lightweight, precast, cellular concrete. It is a green building material composed of fly ash, gypsum, lime, portland cement, water and aluminum powder. AAC blocks are made in rectangular prism shape only.

What is the core functionality of the blocks?
AAC blocks are widely used in the construction of apartments and other types of residential properties, industrial and commercial buildings. Owing to their excellent heat insulation capacity and thermal resistance, AAC blocks find application in interior and exterior construction.

What brings strength and durability to these blocks?
These materials include cement, lime, fly ash, gypsum, aluminum powder and some other additives. The precise combination and proportion of these materials contribute to their overall strength.

How do you ensure quality standards?
We make AAC blocks as per BIS code IS 2185 Part 3, guidelines in IS code to ensure quality standards.

What are the key advantages of using these blocks as building materials?
AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable. They are lightweight, thermally insulated, energy efficient and fire resistant. Their other qualities include acoustics performance, easy workability, design flexibility and faster construction. AAC Blocks are one-third in weight as compared to red bricks thereby reducing the dead load on the building and resulting in huge saving of structural costs. Also, as the size is equivalent to almost nine red bricks, construction is much faster; the labour required is less; joints in the wall are also less thereby resulting in mortar savings, too.

How does it impact the environment?
AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable. They are green lightweight building materials, with less transport cost. This material warms the room during the winter and cools it during the summer, reducing air-conditioning system usage by at least 25 per cent. Non-toxic and pest repellent, they prevent soil erosion and consume less water. Use of red bricks results in an upper layer of soil erosion, which makes the land barren or infertile in the long run.

What innovations can we expect from you?
We are starting with the manufacturing of ALC panels, which is further advancement of technology as ALC panels are a new age building material that is a further advancement of AAC Blocks.
Panels are reinforced with steel and they will make construction much faster, too. Also, we are looking to get many other new age building materials in our partnership with SCG.

Concrete

BMC Cement Concretisation Cuts Pothole Repairs By 70 Per Cent

Project worth Rs 170 billion (Rs 170 bn) aims to concretise 1,900 km by 2027

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s cement concretisation project, valued at Rs 170 billion (Rs 170 bn), has reduced expenditure on pothole repairs by 70 per cent over three years. Spending on repairs fell from Rs 2.02 billion in 2023–24 to Rs 1.56 billion in 2024–25 and then to Rs 890 million (Rs 890 mn) in 2025–26. The current tender is expected to be about Rs 440 million, representing a further 50 per cent reduction.

The project is being executed in two phases, with Phase I covering 307 km from October 2023 and Phase II covering 370 km from October 2024. The Indian Institute of Technology is auditing Phase II and will now also audit Phase I to ensure quality and accountability. Mumbai’s total road network spans approximately 2,050 km, of which about 1,200 km had been converted to cement concrete before 2022.

Since 2022 an additional 677 km were taken up for concretisation and nearly 71 per cent of that work, amounting to 481 km, has been completed. Municipal officials indicated that 10–15 per cent of the remaining work is expected to be completed by May 2026 and another 10 per cent by December 2026. The entire programme is scheduled for completion by May 2027, by which time nearly 1,900 km of Mumbai’s roads are expected to be fully concretised.

The administration has also developed a real time dashboard that displays detailed information about contracts, contractors and progress and citizens can access the latest updates online. The dashboard includes contact details for the civic officials and contractors responsible for particular roads to enhance transparency and accountability. The commissioner directed that ongoing works be completed by 31 May ahead of the monsoon to safeguard completion targets and minimise disruption.

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Concrete

Shree Cement Approves Rs 1,800 Crore Meghalaya Plant

Integrated unit to be completed by quarter ending March 2028

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Shree Cement has approved the establishment of an integrated cement plant in Meghalaya, signalling a targeted capacity expansion to serve regional demand. The board cleared a unit at Village Daistong in East Jaintia Hills District with a clinker capacity of zero point nine five million tonnes per annum (mn t) and a cement capacity of zero point nine nine million tonnes per annum (mn t). The project was approved on April four, 2026 and is designed as a new addition to the company’s production network where it currently has no existing plant.

The company has earmarked an estimated investment of Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion (bn)) for the project, which will be financed through a mix of internal accruals and debt. Management has indicated a balanced financing strategy to preserve cash flows while supporting long-term growth and operational investment. The financing approach is intended to avoid over reliance on external borrowing and to maintain financial discipline during the build out.

The plant is expected to improve logistics efficiency and compress distribution distances to emerging demand centres in the north-east, potentially lowering transportation costs and lead times. By locating production closer to demand the company aims to strengthen market access and respond more effectively to regional construction activity. The project forms part of a broader strategy to diversify the production base across geographies and reduce concentration risk.

Execution is planned over a multi-year window with completion targeted by the quarter ending March 2028 and the company will proceed with construction and requisite regulatory clearances. The integrated design is intended to enhance operational control and production efficiency once operational. The decision follows a regulatory filing dated April four, 2026 and the disclosed details have not been independently verified.

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Concrete

WCA Welcomes SiloConnect as associate corporate member

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The World Cement Association (WCA) has announced SiloConnect as its newest associate corporate member, expanding its network of technology providers supporting digitalisation in the cement industry. SiloConnect offers smart sensor technology that provides real-time visibility of cement inventory levels at customer silos, enabling producers to monitor stock remotely and plan deliveries more efficiently. The solution helps companies move from reactive to proactive logistics, improving delivery planning, operational efficiency and safety by reducing manual inspections. The technology is already used by major cement producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Heidelberg Materials and is deployed across more than 30 countries worldwide.

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