Bitumen consumption reached a ten-year high in the last fiscal year, primarily driven by a surge in road construction activities ahead of the general election. According to data from the oil ministry, sales of bitumen, primarily used for road construction, increased by 10% to 8.8 million metric tonnes (MMT) in FY24.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) played a significant role in boosting road construction, having completed 12,349 km of national highways in 2023-24, which was the second-highest figure recorded so far. This marked a substantial increase from the 10,331 km constructed in the previous fiscal year.
Importantly, over 40% of the bitumen consumed in India is imported, with the country spending $1.3 billion on bitumen imports in FY24, representing an 8% increase compared to the previous year. Bitumen accounts for around 4% of the total domestic consumption of refined products.
Bitumen consumption has been on an upward trend in recent years, in line with the growing road construction activity. Over the last five financial years, the average annual consumption of bitumen was 7.7 MMT, compared to an average of 5.94 MMT between 2014-15 and 2018-19.
In terms of regional consumption, western India emerged as the largest consumer of bitumen in the last fiscal year, while the East recorded the lowest consumption. Bitumen remains the preferred material for road construction, although there is an increasing trend towards using cement for making concrete roads.
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