The ready-mixed concrete industry opposed the government's plan to relax the installation and production standards for ready-mixed concrete production facilities (on-site batching plants) at construction sites, claiming it would threaten the survival rights of existing operators.
The ready-mixed concrete industry released a statement on the 23rd, noting that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s proposal to relax the standards for on-site batching plants, initially announced in December of last year as an administrative notice, constitutes discriminatory treatment against existing construction material companies.
Current regulations for on-site batching plant installations restrict operations to cases where the ready-mixed concrete company cannot supply to the construction site within 90 minutes and prohibits the transportation of produced ready-mixed concrete outside the site. Additionally, when a small ready-mixed concrete company applies for business coordination, 50% must be supplied by surrounding ready-mixed concrete companies.
However, the proposed amendments announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport allow for the production and supply of all ready-mixed concrete from the on-site batching plant and permit the transportation of the produced concrete to nearby sites. It also includes provisions to outright reject business coordination applications from small ready-mixed concrete companies and to remove regulations for cooperative agreements with surrounding companies.
The ready-mixed concrete industry claimed, "Given that the ready-mixed concrete operating rate has fallen to an all-time low of 17%, relaxing the conditions for on-site batching plant installation to allow new suppliers to enter is discriminatory treatment that undermines construction material companies to revitalize the construction industry."
They added, "This will deprive surrounding ready-mixed concrete companies of bidding opportunities and exacerbate serious production excess, threatening the survival of the industry," and stated, "The installation of on-site batching plants should only apply to specific sites where business coordination procedures are followed and where ready-mixed concrete supply is impossible."
Furthermore, the ready-mixed concrete industry emphasized, "The blanket rejection of business coordination applications for on-site batching plant installations violates the cooperative development laws, rendering the business coordination system ineffective," and affirmed, "To protect our survival rights, all 1,079 ready-mixed concrete companies nationwide will respond vigorously using all means available."