Use Of Steel In Construction of Buildings & Infrastructure

At the outset, it is important to understand that from a global perspective, the construction industry is expected to grow at around 2% per annum over the next 15-20 years and at a stronger rate vis-à-vis other steel-consuming sectors. Various megatrends are predicted to support this outlook, including population growth, urbanisation, and a growing middle class. To these megatrends, one must also consider the supportive role that the energy transition will play on the need for infrastructure, as the world gradually moves away from non-renewable to renewable energy.


Against the above dynamics, the steel industry is faced with a relatively low market share of steel in buildings and infrastructure, which we estimate to be around 25% at the global level. The construction industry is characterised by various traits which make it challenging to support from a steel promotion perspective. These include, inter alia:

• Diverse & segmented – Construction has a very long history and is intertwined in the fabric of our lives, e.g. shops, offices, roads, etc.
• Not the steel industry’s main focus – Historically, the automotive sector has been the steel industry’s main focus: rapid development has required the steel industry to allocate significant resources from a research & development perspective.
• Long-term investment & return – Construction probably has the slowest market and technical development cycle vis-à-vis other sectors.
• Absent ecosystem – Countries which historically have a high market share of steel in buildings and infrastructure have had an ecosystem in place. An ecosystem for steel construction involves the nurturing of partnerships across the construction value chain.

As a starting point, constructsteel takes the above challenges as opportunities in crafting steel construction promotion efforts. constructsteel operates over various segments and also targets initiatives to support a steel construction ecosystem. Some of these initiatives include:


Zero Energy Buildings – This initiative operates along the low-rise residential segment. In 2021, the work involved the design of a two-storey zero-energy building house in conjunction with a global design agency. In 2023, the plan is to realise a prototype model of the house in the UK, which is being spearheaded by TATA Steel.

Bridges – Our activities in bridges operate along the short/medium span. In 2021, we commissioned research on how the United States managed to increase the market share of steel in short-span bridges, and identify any learnings which could be transferred to other regions. Indeed, the Indian steel industry, under the auspice of INSDAG, is currently working on a project to showcase the benefits of steel bridges taking a life cycle approach.

Steel-concrete composite construction – Our activities involve the development of a database which will encompass best practice cases in steel-concrete in construction from around the world. Each region will upload their own best practices, with each member of constructsteel having access to best practices which could potentially be applied in their respective region.

Communications - Constructsteel.org is the conduit through which we upload the progress of our various workstreams. For example, we issue a monthly newsletter which typically includes a contribution from one of our member companies. Through the website, we also upload monthly stories on the use of steel in various projects around the world.

Steel Solutions Platform – Acts as a centralised location where steel construction stakeholders may upload their products and solutions. The platform is intended for small to medium size enterprises to avail themselves of what steel construction solutions are available in various parts of the world.

constructsteel annual conference – We have been organising annual conferences since 2017. Such events aim to bring the steel construction value chain together.

In conclusion, against the backdrop of a construction industry poised for continued growth over the next two decades, constructsteel’s role is to approach this growth from a segmented perspective to help position the use of steel in construction. At the same time, efforts to support the ecosystem are equally important, with our friends in the concrete and timber industries actively engaging their respective stakeholders.

Acknowledgement: The article has been reproduced from the proceeding of the workshop ‘Steel for Sustainable Development’ organised by INSDAG, CEAI-WRC and IIT Bombay and at IIT Bombay on 4 February 2023.

About the Author

Terrence Busuttil holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Warwick, UK, and is specialised in Econometrics. At worldsteel, Terrence has been responsible for analysing global economic trends having an impact on the global steel industry.

Construction is the largest steel-using sector, accounting for over 50% of world steel demand. His tenure at worldsteel has more recently been focused on construction initiatives that help position the use of steel as a material of choice, while transforming global efforts into opportunities at a regional level.