Waterproofing can help increase a buildings’ life span

Realty+ in conversation with Ajay Durrani, Managing Director, Covestro India. What is the current market scenario of waterproofing industry? The construction industry is the second largest industry in India and it accounts for about 11% of India as GDP. Construction sector in India will remain buoyant due to increased demand from real estate and infrastructure projects. Infrastructure sector includes power, bridges, dams, roads and urban infrastructure development.The growing domestic construction industry and the booming industrial sector are together seen as the major driving forces behind the increased demand for waterproofing products in India. Waterproofing chemicals accounts only approx. 5% of entire project cost & they are used to protect the structural integrity of buildings from water penetration. Excess water penetration in buildings can shorten their life span, thus leading to electrical, metal and health hazards. Waterproofing chemicals increase the shelf life of concretes and offer durability to infrastructures. These functions lower the maintenance cost of buildings.Growing need for rehabilitation and renovation projects owing to substantial number of ageing & deteriorating infrastructure should contribute towards waterproofing industry growth. Shift in consumer inclination towards use of durable and reliable construction materials along with increasing applications such as waste & water management should drive waterproofing membrane market size. Rapid urbanization with rising economic standards has led to increase in construction industry thereby driving waterproofing membrane demand.   How are you engaging with the professionals to create awareness? Covestro is highly engaged in creating awareness on high performance & durable waterproofing solutions to increase the structural integrity at the same time reducing the maintenance cycle of the waterproofing solution. We are connected with Industry value chain players such as paint manufacturer, architects, builders & applicators to spread the knowledge on PU technology & latest technological advancements in waterproofing sector. We emphasize on various forums about “Right selection & understanding of waterproofing solution ensures lowest life cycle cost not just warranty period”. In addition to this Covestro also provides hands on experience to the industry stakeholders by providing processing & application related training at our SMDC Lab based in Airoli, Navi Mumbai. Covestro believes in value creation by collaborating with customers to develop customized solution for their requirements.   What are the latest innovations of waterproofing to prevent water leakage? A Gradual shift/inclination in consumer preference towards bio-based / ecofriendly polymer based waterproofing due to growing environmental concerns and  building code standards (LEED/Green building certifications) accompanied with technological advancements will surge waterproofing membrane growth demand. At the same time, consumer inclination towards durable & longer warranty waterproofing solutions will also lead to use more and higher performance material such as Polyurethane &Polyurea technology. Apart from traditional mechanism of waterproofing, crack injection foam has also gained a significant share in the industry, in order to stop & prevent water leakages. There are various high end polyurethane &Polyurea waterproofing solutions which are directly being imported to India due to lack of technical know-how to produce /scale-up locally and therefore domestic users have to be dependent on these solutions. Identifying this unmet need in IN, Covestro started promoting the concept of “WHY IMPORT, WHEN WE CAN MAKE IN INDIA” in 2018. Through this initiative, we are supporting customers with technical know-how to develop in house solution rather than be dependent on imported solutions.   What are the tax expectations of waterproofing from the upcoming budget? During last union budget, Goods and services tax (GST) on paints and varnishes has been reduced to 18% from 28%, a big relief for paint manufacturers. However, we are not expecting any major changes in the upcoming budget. The period between 2014 and 2018 has seen a considerable growth in the infrastructure sector. Manifesto of existing Govt. also promised to make huge investments in the field of infrastructure sector over the next five years. There has been a significant increase in the budget allocated for Smart Cities Mission, metro rail projects and AMRUT which will for sure lead to growth in waterproofing sector.