Public infrastructure spending in India to boost the consumption of concrete surface treatment chemicals

Rapid industrialization has been observed across developing nations over the past decade. A large number of people migrating from rural areas to cities has encouraged massive construction activities, fueling the demand for concrete and surface treatment chemicals.

It has been estimated that around 3 billion people live in cities and the number will witness an increase to 5 billion by 2030. The steadily developing economies will witness an urban expansion of 95% in the coming decades. This urban boom will lead to tremendous investments towards infrastructure growth in the near future.

Various financial institutions and government initiatives have helped in the expansion of infrastructure and subsequently, driven the consumption of concrete surface treatment chemicals. For instance, Asian Development Bank (ADB) offers grants, loans as well as technical assistance to all the developing countries via public-private partnerships to support building and maintenance of infrastructure.

ADB will reportedly scale up its operations by 50% from US$14 billion in 2014 to over US$20 billion in the year 2020. 70% of the amount mentioned above is planned to be invested in infrastructure. Asia Pacific spends nearly US$900 billion on infrastructure every year.

As per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India, the construction development sector in the country has received major FDI boost from April 2000 to March 2019 standing at US$25.05 billion. The government of India has allocated US$63.20 billion in total for the infrastructure sector.

Increasing world population is the prime reason that will stimulate the growth of concrete surface treatment chemicals market over the coming years. Growth in population has resulted in a high requirement for housing projects worldwide, driving the expansion of related industrial sectors.

Global population has been expected to increase by 2 billion people by the next few decades leading up to 9.7 billion people by 2050. Out of the current population, 61% resides in the Asia Pacific region, with China and India representing 19% and 18% of the world’s population respectively.

Strengthening public infrastructure

Curing compounds are important surface treatment chemicals and are widely used for the hydration of the cement. The compound essentially helps to prevent moisture loss from the concrete that helps cure it properly and completely develop its strength.

Curing is a major necessity in the construction activities owing to significant properties gained, like reflectance, non-volatile matter, water retention, a long-terms setting and a fine drying period. Curing compounds help in the development of maximum durability of the structure and is used to cure concrete for dams, beams, canal linings, slabs and columns.

With the presence of curing compounds during construction activities, curing of larger surfaces that are mostly exposed to wind and the sunlight becomes much easier and optimal. Moreover, these chemicals are aptly suited to enhance bridge decks, concrete pavements and runways to their maximum strength.

The increase in the investment across the municipal sector will have a major influence over concrete surface treatment chemicals consumption. India has allocated about US$11.51 billion for road transport and highway. India’s national highway construction had reportedly risen by 20% every year from 2017 to 2018.

The residential and commercial sector has also witnessed a significant increase in the construction activities on account of major government initiatives and investments by key players. The Indian government has planned to provide water supply to every household in about 500 cities while also placing targets to construct more than 5 crore homes in the future.

It has also planned to use about US$110.88 million to upgrade all the state government medical colleges at the district hospitals. Consistent development of public and municipal structures will create notable growth prospects for concrete suppliers as well as for the manufacturers of concrete surface treatment chemicals.