Could CRH build Trump’s wall if he wins?
$10bn border is key to US presidential bid
IRISH company Cement Roadstone Holdings is among the leading firms in the frame to build Donald Trump’s $10bn security wall if he becomes US president. A cornerstone of the billionaire’s presidential campaign, the controversial wall will, he says, keep Mexicans out of the US.
The Republican presidential nominee’s election pledge to build a high, secure concrete wall is expected to boost the share price of CRH – America’s biggest cement and construction materials company.
The firm was also involved in building Israel’s West Bank Wall, through its cement and concrete supplies, to keep out Palestinian citizens and provide ‘de facto’ borders for the controversial Israeli settler towns in occupied Palestinian territories.
Trump’s ‘anti-migrant wall’ would be more than four times longer than the Israeli structure, running along the 3,200km Mexican-American border.
At this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Trump said building the wall would cost up to $10bn. He again insisted that Mexico would foot the bill.
‘It’s an easy decision for Mexico: Make a one-time payment of $5bn-$10bn to ensure that $24bn continues to flow into their country year after year,’ he stated on donaldjtrump.com. The $24bn refers to the amount Mexican nationals earn in the US and send to their families in Mexico. According to Trump most of that money is sent by ‘illegal aliens’.
CRH owns MMI based in Houston, Texas which is the leading provider of fencing, wire and barriers in the southern US. With its experience fencing in Palestinian families, the group is a leading provider in securing international borders.
This weekend a CRH spokeswoman stated that ‘both CRH and its Oldcastle American operations have a long-standing policy not to comment on speculation or conjecture in relation to market moves’. She would not comment on whether CRH chiefs would refuse to provide materials for the ‘anti-migrant’ wall.
If built, the wall would be the most significant international barrier since the 155km Berlin Wall that came down in 1989.
Earlier this year, CRH sold its 25% stake in Israel’s main cement firm, Mashav. The Irish firm had previously been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists urging it to sell its stake in the Israeli group.
Irish firm helped build Israel’s West Bank Wall