Sharing his optimism toward the growth of the concrete and RMC markets, Anil Banchhor, MD & CEO-RDC Concrete India Pvt. Ltd., highlights that the ready-mix concrete industry is expected to consume more than 30 per cent of the cement produced.

With the ongoing growth trends in the Indian construction and infrastructure segment, how do you view the demand for concrete in India?
The ready-mix concrete industry entered the country in the 90s, but it has picked up pace only in the last decade and a half, owing to rapid infrastructure development. The RMC industry is developing rapidly, driven by the demand from metro and major cities with upcoming infrastructure projects such as the Metro rails, flyovers, high-rise buildings, etc. The industry has grown to all parts of the country, including the metros and Tier 2 and 3 cities. Though the RMC sector in India is growing rapidly at a pace of 15-20 per cent annually, the business is still in its
infancy as the gap between the organised and unorganised sectors is wide. Cement is a prime material in ready-mix concrete. In the coming years, the ready-mix concrete industry is likely to consume more than 30 per cent of the cement produced, up from the current consumption level of around 15 per cent. Despite these challenges, the RMC
sector is expected to grow by more than 20– 25 per cent in the coming years.

As part of your green initiatives, what solutions have been introduced?
Concrete, by and large, itself, has been the greenest thing to happen to the construction industry. All other options other than concrete are not sustainable or green. Right now, the economy desires more green factors in terms of reduced embedded energy costs and efficiency of the concrete in terms of service life. On the other hand, the green
virtuosity of RDC products has never been an issue, but the challenges in demand for green products are right now determining the green virtues of our products. The policies have still not been aligned enough to encourage higher usage of green products. In other words, concrete can be tailor-made into more green products by removing traditional prescriptive norms. Despite these challenges, we have developed eco-friendly products with the least  carbon footprint and outperform all the structural requirements demanded by the designers.

What kinds of projects have you recently undertaken, and how have customers reacted?
Our portfolio of customers includes real estate developers, contractors, infrastructure companies, commercial projects, and individual homeowners. In infrastructure, we are part of some prestigious projects such as Bullet Train with L&T, Bandra-Worli Sealink with HCC and various metro projects in major metro cities. Our other customers are the industry’s top builders and contractors, for whom we are doing many projects all over India, and they are pleased with our overall performance.

What is your outlook for construction and infrastructure projects in the coming years?
The Indian construction industry recorded approximately 9 per cent growth last year, which is supported by a continued relaxation of restrictions and improving construction activity in the roads and highways sector by the Indian government. This will be further enhanced by increased government investment in the transport, health, energy, and housing infrastructure sectors under the Budget for 2022/2023, which will facilitate new public and private partnerships to develop large-scale projects in these sectors. With an increased road network, further development will happen in the commercial and industrial sectors due to better connectivity. The residential segment is expected to stay strong and exhibit similar activity as it did in past  years. The construction industry is expected to grow at a 7–10 per cent annual rate between 2023 and 2026. I feel the coming years will likely be exciting for the engineering and construction industry.