Expansion, Bio-Solutions for India Bitumen

AAllied Market Research reports the bitumen market value in India is expected to reach $3.6 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 2.8% from 2019 to 2026. The increasing industrialization and urbanization in developing regions—like India—are leading to the increasing demand for bitumen.

Eswara Prasad, the manager for chemical and material at Allied Market Research, shared: “The India bitumen market is heading toward growth expansion phase over the coming years. This is due to significant growth in infrastructure development activities across the country. East India, North India and South India witnessed a considerable growth due to rise in construction activities that include construction of new highways, expressways and airports. In addition, government initiative such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) that includes construction of houses for poor in urban and rural areas of the country fuels the demand for bitumen. These factors are anticipated to boost the growth of the India bitumen market during the forecast period.”

Allied Market Research recently reported the infrastructure development programs initiated by Government of India have helped drive the demand for bitumen for the construction of highways and expressways. These programs include: the Bharatmala project; Golden quadrangle project; and construction of various industrial and economic corridors like Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor, Chennai-Bengaluru Economic Corridor, Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor, and Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor. In addition, government initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, mentioned above, that include provision of good, all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages of the country are anticipated to drive the growth of the market.

Moreover, existing market players and new entrants are coming up with new strategies and trends. The market, therefore, is witnessing an array of happenings. Here are some of the latest market activities that are expected to thrive in the future.

NEW TERMINALS

The market players are investing to launch new terminals. Recently, Puma Energy, a Swiss, multi-national, mid- and downstream oil company, has unveiled the inauguration of its latest bitumen terminal in Chennai, India. The new terminal will manufacture around 40KT of asphalt yearly to reinforce infrastructure growth in the country. Furthermore, this initiative aims to help the country with an effective and modern infrastructure to supply bitumen. Along with this, the latest terminal opening in India would also supplement and expand Puma Bitumen’s portfolio in the Asian province. On this, the commercial operations manager of the company stated that India, with its second-largest road network in the world, promises an exciting market for Puma Bitumen to operate and grow. He added that this new terminal and surged supply of bitumen into India will be an essential part of the growth strategy of the company in this region in coming years.

ECO-TECH

Recently, one of India’s leading industrial biotech companies, Praj Industries, has brought an innovative technology to manufacture bio-bitumen based on lignin. Praj’s bio-bitumen samples have been approved by Circular Biobased Delta, based in The Netherlands. The company has now established a proprietary process to transform crude lignin into bio-bitumen. According to the company, the bio-bitumen carries the potential to replace fossil-based bitumen.

ADHESIVES VS. CHALLENGES

The road and building developing activities, including construction of various national highways, expressways and airport runways, have been boosted in emerging economies along with the increasing demand for adhesives, in the past few years. Simultaneously, the construction industry is witnessing growth thereby supporting the bitumen market. Bitumen is widely used in waterproofing of building roofs. Therefore, government initiatives such as “Smart City Mission” and PMAY that include construction of houses in urban and rural areas boost the market growth. Significant development in the Indian construction industry along with industrial development across the country are expected to drive the growth of the bitumen industry in the coming years.

At the same time, the rise in use of bitumen alternatives in roadway applications create challenges, to a certain extent. In addition, the fluctuating crude oil prices further impede market growth. Nevertheless, the development and advancement in technologies to come up with solutions such as bio-based bitumen enlarge the opportunities for the market players. Also, the initiatives by the government bodies to develop infrastructure across the nations are leading to progress for the industry. Moreover, the strategies and trends adopted by the market players to expand the industry growth further present huge prospects for the market players, and the industry, therefore, is expected to witness exponential growth in the coming years.

The key players operating in the Indian bitumen industry include Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Total India, Tiki Tar Industries India Ltd., Agarwal Industries Corporation Ltd., Juno Bitumix Pvt Ltd., Universal Bituminous Industries Pvt. Ltd., and Swastik Tar Industries.

– BY AKSHITA PACHOLI

Akshita Pacholi has accomplished a Master’s degree in English Literature and presently is working as a content writer with Allied Market Research.