Market Trends of China Construction Chemicals Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the China Construction Chemicals Market according to our research experts:
Increasing Investments in the Infrastructure Sector
- Increasing infrastructure construction activity is the major driver for the China construction sector. The country is receiving significant investments, both from public and private sources, which are increasing the development of the infrastructure sector, further increasing the demand for construction chemicals from the sector.
- To boost economic growth, the government approved new subway projects worth RMB 200 billion. In 2019, the investment in railway is estimated to be worth RMB 850 billion. Various projects are also being undertaken, to develop the subway sector, such as Shenzhen’s new subway projects worth RMB 26 billion. These projects are expected to provide ample growth opportunities to the infrastructure companies.
- China is carrying out as well as planning construction projects in more than 60 countries, along various roads and shipping lanes. Known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Chinese Marshall Plan to connect Asia, Africa, and Europe will significantly increase the demand for construction chemicals, in the country. This Belt Initiative is expected to cost more than USD one trillion, with China already investing more than USD 210 billion, the majority of it in Asia.
- In 2013, China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to improve connectivity and cooperation on a transcontinental scale. The program is expected to involve over USD 1 trillion in investments up to 2049, largely in infrastructure development for ports, roads, railways, and airports, and power plants and telecommunications networks.
- All the aforementioned factors, in turn, are expected to drive the market for construction chemicals in the country during the forecast period.
Increasing Demand for Concrete Admixtures
- Concrete admixtures are ingredients that are added to the concrete mixture before or during mixing. Concrete admixtures reduce concrete construction cost by modifying the properties of hardened concrete, thereby ensuring better quality during mixing, transporting, placing, and curing. This allows users to overcome emergencies during concrete operations.
- The admixture is generally added in a relatively small quantity, ranging from 0.005% to 2%, by weight of cement. However, overuse of admixtures has detrimental effects on the quality and properties of concrete.
- Based on function, admixtures are categorized into several types, which include air-entraining, retarding, accelerating, plasticizing, and water reducing, among others. The special category admixtures have various functions, including shrinkage reduction, corrosion inhibition, workability enhancement, alkali-silica reactivity reduction, bonding, coloring, and damp proofing.
- China has the largest market for concrete admixture, owing to the massive growth in construction. Various incentives by the governments of the respective countries to promote the infrastructure sector, coupled with the booming residential sector (owing to the burgeoning middle-class population), have largely facilitated the growth of the construction sector in the country, over the recent years.