Tonnes of work ahead as Wagners seals deal to cement place in India
TOOWOOMBA construction group Wagners is moving into the lucrative Indian market with a plan to supply environmentally friendly concrete to the subcontinent.
The family-owned company behind the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian conglomerate JSW Group to produce environmentally friendly concrete (EFC) for a country currently in the middle of an infrastructure boom.
India will need an estimated $596 billion in infrastructure development over the next five years, including power stations, roads and railways.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said infrastructure development was the Government’s priority to improve economic growth.
Wagners director Joe Wagner said EFC was made from slag, a byproduct of steelmaking, rather than traditional cement materials. JSW, an $11 billion business that employs 40,000 people, is involved in steelmaking, cement, energy and infrastructure.
Mr Wagner said JSW Cement was one of the leading brands in India, a country that each year produced more than 500 million cu m of concrete.
No financial details of the joint venture were disclosed but Mr Wagner said the company hoped to be producing EFC with JSW by the middle of next year.
“We mainly see the opportunities for this technology overseas,” said Mr Wagner. “The authorities really see the benefit of it from an environmental point of view. Every tonne of concrete made this way is a tonne of carbon taken out of the environment.”