You could justifiably argue that Africa is where it’s going to be at in terms of aggregate demand over the next 20 or so years.
In this issue’s Market Report on African aggregates demand, Munesu Shoko quotes KPMG’s Construction in Africa report highlighting how GDP per capita levels in many African countries have sped past the critical US$1,000 level. Consumers turning their attention to more luxury rather than essential items. The increased spending power is linked with growing urbanisation, with Africa set to see the number of cities identified with two million plus inhabitants swell from 22 to 36 between 2010 and 2020. Such a marked rise in city and town dwellers creates a huge need for more housing and other infrastructure such as roads, creating huge commercial opportunities for aggregate material suppliers.
As previous editions of Aggregates Business International – Asia, Africa & Middle East have reported, East African aggregate demand is rocketing due to a relentless drive to integrate the region’s infrastructure. Megaprojects are everywhere, especially related to transport. Kenya is among the region’s nations benefitting the most from the great infrastructure integration agenda. Inside you’ll read Shem Oirere’s Quarry Profile about how Aristocrats Concrete Ltd is looking to take advantage of increased business possibilities by boosting operations at its 100 hectare quarry at Syokimau in Machakos County, near Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
Srihari Raja, Aristocrats’ equipment maintenance manager, sums up the optimistic mood among Kenyan building materials producers, by saying: “The future of the quarry business in Kenya looks bright as investors anticipate a boom in the next five years because of the expanding construction industry, increasing Chinese investment, preference for high rise buildings, probably because of limited urban space, and the embracing of public private partnerships.”
Adding to the sense of African momentum in building and highways material demand is the expert view of Professor John Read, Shell Bitumen’s general manager of Bitumen Technology. In my extensive interview with John in this issue, he highlights how Africa’s North, East and West African coastal countries – along with the Central Asian ‘Stan’ republics – are set to be key growth markets for the bitumen sector in the future. Much of this growth is linked to the need to develop modern road networks, with organisations such as the World Bank keen to provide large sums of money to enable necessary works.
Turning our attention to Asia, we’ve a Quarry Report on how two mobile cone crushers and a screen supplied by a leading global OEM are helping Japanese firm Tetsugen, based in the central Tokyo district of Chiyoda, produce aggregates for use in road building and concrete foundations.
We and many others are also looking forward to seeing the latest models for Asian market customers set to be exhibited by major international OEMs at bauma China 2016 being held 22-25 November at Shanghai New International Expo Centre. It will be interesting to hear over the course of what will be the eighth edition of the showpiece event, what attendees think of the tough Chinese quarrying and construction markets and what growth opportunities can be found within them.
Another big exhibition for ABI-minded readers is The Big 5 taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates 21-24 November 2016. The Middle East has remained an encouraging market for quarry operators and quarry equipment manufacturers in recent years. It will be fascinating to see which of the new crushing and screening models from global OEMs, set to be on display at the Dubai World Trade Centre-based event, steal the show.
