Cement volumes likely to grow by 7-8% on all-round demand: ICRA

05 Aug 2022 CW Team

Cement volumes are expected to grow by 7-8% in FY2023 to around 388 million tonnes, aided by demand from housing, both rural and urban, and the infrastructure sector, according to an ICRA analysis. The demand for rural housing is supported by a robust rabi harvest and better crop realisation. The progress of kharif sowing, amidst a modest hike in MSPs of such crops for the upcoming marketing season, would determine farm sentiments going forward.

In the infrastructure segment, the significant increase of 24% in capital expenditure to Rs 7.5 trillion in the FY23 budget estimates over FY2022 revised estimates, led by Rs 1.8 trillion for roads and Rs 1.4 trillion for railways, augurs well for cement demand.

On urban housing, the report says that notwithstanding potential challenges due to increasing interest rates, the growth in employee headcounts and salaries for many IT/ITES companies, and demand for better and larger homes on account of the shift to the hybrid working model in customer segments working in IT/ITES, BFSI and related sectors is likely to support demand going forward.

However, the elevated input costs are likely to adversely impact operating margins, which are expected to be the lowest in the last seven years.

Cement; ICRA; housing; infrastructure

Real Estate

17 Jun 2025

WeWork India Expands With New Centres in Pune, Chennai

Workspace solutions provider WeWork India has announced the leasing of two new centres: WeWork EON Free Zone in Pune and WeWork Ramanujan Intellion Park in Chennai. Together, the new locations will add 200,000 square feet of flexible workspace to its portfolio and are scheduled to open in the second half of FY25.This move marks WeWork India鈥檚 third centre in Chennai, situated at the beginning of Old Mahabalipuram Road within the Littlewood Tower at Ramanujan Intellion Park. Spanning 150,000 square feet across three floors, the fully customised centre will offer 2,400 desks to accommodate ent..

Infrastructure Transport

17 Jun 2025

VOC Port鈥檚 Rs 70 Billion Plan Fails to Attract Bidders Again

The VOC Port Authority鈥檚 ambitious Rs 70.56 billion outer harbour project has encountered another significant setback, with its second tender cancelled due to the absence of qualified bidders. Sources confirmed that the tender has been withdrawn from the active bid list, and the authority may now consider restructuring the project.This marks the second failed attempt to initiate the large-scale development at Thoothukudi port. The Request for Proposal (RFP) was reissued in December 2024, following the cancellation of the initial round, which attracted just two applications鈥攆rom Vedanta and..

Real Estate

17 Jun 2025

MHADA Floats Tenders for Kamathipura Redevelopment

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has invited tenders to appoint a Construction and Development Agency for the cluster redevelopment of Kamathipura, a historically significant neighbourhood in South Mumbai. The project will be implemented by the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB), a unit of MHADA.Spread over 34 acres, Kamathipura comprises 943 cessed buildings across 15 narrow lanes, many of which are nearly a century old. The redevelopment, under Regulation 33(9) of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, marks a shift ..