Spanish monthly consumption down 40% YoY

Cement consumption in Spain continues descending with demand in March 2013 down 40 per cent YoY, according to the latest data released by domestic cement association Oficemen.

Cement demand plummeted by more than half a million tonnes last month to 778,568t, compared to March 2012.

Accumulated figures for the first quarter of 2013 also paint a grim picture, with consumption at 2.535Mt, down 29 per cent on the same period of last year.

"In addition to the stoppage in construction, governments are slashing investments in infrastructure. According to the latest data from Seopan, bidding on public works fell last year by 45 per cent, " explains the CEO of Oficemen, Aniceto Zaragoza.

"Looking to the future, while maintaining adequate service under all infrastructures that have developed over the years, the government should implement infrastructure that is unavoidable, for example, rail transport or hydraulic works".

In this sense, Zaragoza said that: "Spain needed water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. The level of wastewater treatment in our country is still at 84 per cent, below its target of 100 per cent of the Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. If the administration delays the execution of the National Plan for Water Quality, which included investments of EUR19,000m, Spain will default on the 2015 European Directive regarding urban wastewater treatment and receive a financial penalty ."

On the other hand, in Spain 17 per cent of the water supplied is lost by losses in public supply networks and a third by irrigation infrastructure that is over a century old. "We must also be aware that Spain is a country of floods and drought cycles. When the drought cycle returns, it will be too late to correct the major deficiencies that our country has in this type of infrastructure that must be maintained and renewed. And these shortcomings should be resolved and, regardless of the crisis, " Zaragoza added.