The newly built expressway was formally launched on 2 July 2015, after a successful onsite inspection in June 2015 by a 100-member contingent from the Gansu Expressway Bureau, led by the Deputy Director of the Gansu Communications Department, as well as road bureau directors from14 cities in Gansu province and engineering experts.

This project is part of China’s $79.8 billion infrastructure plan for Gansu province to facilitate trade and people exchanges between China and Central Asia, as part of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in launched in 2013. The initiative will see the demand for high quality bitumen rise, needed to pave the thousands of kilometres of highways and high speed rail links. The total transport infrastructure investment in the initiative is estimated to hit $5 trillion in the next five years, equivalent to 2.5 times the market size in China.1

Shell is one of largest international bitumen suppliers in China, and is the only IOC with a dedicated bitumen technical service team in the country. Shell imports most of its bitumen supply for China from its own plant in Pulau Bukom, Singapore, to provide Chinese customers with consistent high quality. Beyond just providing high quality bitumen, Shell also operates one of its three bitumen-dedicated Regional Solution Centres in Beijing, China. Shell operates three bitumen manufacturing plants as well as two joint venture plants in strategic regions throughout China, producing high quality polymer modified bitumen (PMB) products.

“We are looking to expand our business in China, widening our business reach into provinces in China’s northwest and southwest regions. We are looking forward to supporting China’s infrastructure boom with our high-quality products and attentive technical services,” said Jian Ping Shen, General Manager of Shell Bitumen China.

Shell Bitumen markets both conventional bitumen and specialised bitumen products to customers in China, including Shell Cariphalte, its polymer modified bitumen (PMB) solution recommended for use in heavy duty applications like expressways, airport runways, etc. Shell also markets a range of emulsions used in road paving and other asphalt-based products used in industrial applications like waterproofing. Shell Bitufresh, a specially formulated bitumen additive designed to neutralise bitumen odour, is also offered in China.

Shell Bitumen has supplied its expertise in bitumen technology to some of China’s most important infrastructure projects including the 302km-long Guangdong Guangle Expressway, Beijing’s Changan Avenue’s East section and 2nd Ring road used during the APEC meeting held in Beijing in 2014. Shell also supplied bitumen for the roads surrounding Beijing Olympic Park and the China Pavilion during the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai. Shell also played a key role during the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai, Harbin-Dalian, Beijing-Shijiazhuang and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway projects.

1 “One Belt, One Road: Building Links, Strengthening Influence”, Fidelity Worldwide Investment, 2015

Notes to Editors

  • Shell is the world’s largest bitumen marketer, and delivers enough bitumen to pave a one-lane kilometre road every four minutes.
  • Shell Bitumen was recently named the winner of the 2015 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) by the International Road Federation (IRF) in the research category for its product Shell Bitufresh.
  • Shell is a leader in bitumen technology, and recently published the “Shell Bitumen Handbook, Sixth Edition”, which covers the latest topics in bitumen technology and application.
  • Shell Bitumen also offers its customers fixed price risk management services, allowing contractors greater price stability, enabling them to plan project budgets more accurately.
  • Shell Cariphalte has a proven track record and is differentiated by Shell’s capability in technical expertise and a track record of over 40 years in PMBs.
  • Shell Bitumen operates a network of Regional Technical Centres located in key regions (Beijing, China, Strasbourg, France, and Bangkok, Thailand.) Shell has also established its global bitumen R&D Centre in Bangalore, India.

Enquiries:

Shell Bitumen Global
Oliver Lim
+ 65 9727 8960
o.lim@shell.com

 

Royal Dutch Shell plc

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