The two-day cement expo inaugurated in Hyderabad on December 20, 2018, witnessed the participation of over 200 decision-makers, 80 brands and 1,200 visitors, besides various industry bodies. The 10th edition of Cement Expo and International Conference, held in association with Indian Cement Review (ICR) magazine, got off to a fantastic start on December 20, 2018, in Hyderabad, with the release of ICR’s Vision 2030, developed through primary and secondary research by Delhi-based Kanvic Consulting, the knowledge partner for the event. On the second day of the conference, awards were presented recognising lifetime contributions by stalwarts and the fastest growing cement companies. Speaking at the biennial conference and expo, Pratap Padode, Founder and President, FIRST Construction Council (FCC), said, “India’s cement industry has historically grown faster than the overall economy of the country – in fact, its remarkable progress has made India the world’s second-largest cement producer and it has also emerged to be one of the top industries in the world in terms of thermal and process efficiencies.” FCC is an infrastructure think tank focused on providing the latest updates on the construction industry in India. Sumit Banerjee, Chairman, Editorial Advisory Board, ICR, said, “There is an urgent need for the government to work on a national policy for building materials, not only for cement but also for materials like sand and aggregates, so that various issues confronting these sectors can be dealt with in a planned manner through coordinated policy-making.  Our effort in drafting the report on Vision 2030 is a humble contribution to highlight this need.” Discussing the findings of the Vision 2030 report, Deepak Sharma, Director, Kanvic Consulting, said, “Kanvic’s Cement Demand Projection Model shows that cement demand in India will increase by 116 per cent by 2030 to 660 million metric tonne (mmt) at a CAGR of 6.6 per cent.” He also said that to meet the future cement demand in 2030, the industry will need to invest in 368 mmt of additional capacity, an increase of 83 per cent. “There is a sudden boom in exports from India. China’s resorting to closing down all high polluting cement plants has made India a cement exporter again during the past year,” said Krishna Srivastava, Director-Marketing, Penna Cement Industries. Indonesia, which was a major exporter of cement to neighbouring countries till recently, has shifted focus to China, thus enabling Indian companies to export their cement products to markets such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. With this, the southern region has seen an uptick in exports. Speakers at the event also emphasised upon the need to increase use of alternative fuels and raw (AFR) materials and recognise those focusing on the use of alternative fuels, particularly municipal and agricultural waste. “AFR usage in India is just 6-8 per cent, while it is 70-80 per cent in Europe,” said Makarand Marathe, Director, Cement Division, thyssenkrupp Industries India. Meanwhile, Salil Garg, Director & Co-Head, Corporates, India Ratings & Research, pointed out that unless India finds a viable model for funding infrastructure projects, demand for cement is unlikely to grow in double digits. Atul Priyadarshi, Senior AGM-Planning & Development, Kalburgi Cement, pointed out that cement usage will increase if cement companies reduce the delivered cost of cement by using costal shipping and inland waterways. The leading participants in the expo included ABB, ACC, AdorFontech, Ambuja Cement, Beumer India, Bharathi Cement, BHEL, Calderys India Refractories, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Dalmia Bharat Cement, Dawar Cement, Edelweiss Financial Service, FL Smidth & Co, Government of Telangana, Heidelberg Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement, NCL Industries, OCL India, Penna Cement, Phoenix Group and Wonder Cement. The event was supported by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, ABB, Eicher, Penna Cement, JK Cements and Bharathi Cement.