The Ukrcement Association advocates for the wider use of cement concrete technologies in road construction in Ukraine and calls on communities to prepare standard solutions and a package of regulatory documents for the rapid restoration of damaged sections, the association announced following the results of the scientific and practical seminar “Cement-concrete roads: technologies, standards, prospects,” which took place on February 11 in Kyiv.
In her report, Lyudmila Krypka, executive director of the Ukrcement association, emphasized the cement industry’s ability to fully supply the domestic market with cement. She also highlighted the transition to European standards in products and regulation, in particular GOST EN 197-1 and the requirements for declarations and the responsibility of participants in the construction product supply chain.
According to Ukrcement, in the context of infrastructure restoration, concrete technologies can be a practical tool for communities both for the construction of individual sections and for road repairs, and the immediate task is to develop standard designs, materials, and technologies that allow restoration work to be carried out in many cases without the involvement of large road companies.
“The most difficult times are times of change. It is important to use these changes for the benefit of the country’s development,” Krypka emphasized, stressing the importance of implementing best practices using domestic building materials that create added value for the economy.
As noted by the association, the development of cement-concrete roads is of strategic importance and could become one of the drivers of the country’s recovery and the formation of a sustainable European-level infrastructure.
BASF, an international chemical producer, is to invest EUR 2 million in a new plant that will produce concrete additives in the town of Obukhiv, Kyiv region, which is to open next spring, Managing Director (CEO) at BASF Ukraine Andreas Lier has said. “There will be about EUR 2 million in investment. This is our first investment in Ukraine. If it is successful, we will continue investing in this production. We have already been present in the Ukrainian market with these products for several years. We have been importing this product for a long time, but now we’ve decided we want to produce it here,” Lier told Interfax-Ukraine.
BASF’s National Development Manager Oleksandr Ruban says that the plant’s production capacity will be 10,000 tonnes of produce per year with the possibility of boosting the output in future. The plant is scheduled to be launched in March-April 2019.
Production in Ukraine will halve the price of concrete additives and will also allow the company to significantly increase its market share.
“Now we are bringing all the additives from abroad, and our share in the market is very small – less than 1%. We plan to grow up to 10% of the market in the first year,” Ruban said in a comment to the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Governor of Kyiv region Oleksandr Horhan forecasts that the production of the additives at the plant in Obukhiv will speed up the pace of construction in Kyiv region.
“Kyiv region is the leader in construction. These additives will make frame-monolithic construction possible amid sub-zero temperatures, allowing construction all the year round. Now such additives are available on the market, but they are imported and expensive,” Horhan said.
