State-run oil refining and marketing company Indian Oil (IOCL) has formed a joint venture (JV) with Paris-based energy firm Total for the manufacturing and marketing of bitumen derivatives for the road construction industry. The JV will set up manufacturing units across the country and will explore possibilities to cater to other South Asian markets.
“The operations of this JV would commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur and subsequently set up new greenfield plants,” IOCL chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said.
The partnership is eyeing a robust bitumen market with the government’s focus on road infrastructure through mega projects like the ‘Bharatmala’, which envisages development of 34,800 km of roads at an estimated investment of over Rs 5 lakh crore in the first phase.
Among other products, the JV will manufacture polymer-modified bitumen, which is used to lay heavy duty roads to endure substantial traffic loads and extreme weather events. The research and development team of IOCL has already been working to increase the usage of waste plastic in road construction.
“The demand for aggregate material and manufactured material for the highway construction and rehabilitation sector in India is very high, especially for good-quality bitumen derivatives,” the companies said in a joint statement.
