Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shell and Tiki Tar Industries have formed a joint venture to manufacture and market value-added bitumen products for India’s expanding road, highway and airport infrastructure sectors, BPCL said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new company, Bharat Tiki Tar Shell Pvt Ltd, has begun operations following a joint venture and share subscription agreement signed on June 26. It replaces Tiki Tar and Shell India Pvt Ltd, a partnership established in 2019.
The venture will produce specialised materials including polymer-modified bitumen (PMB), crumb-rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) and bitumen emulsions. According to BPCL, these products are used in road and runway construction because they offer improved durability, temperature stability and longer service life compared with conventional paving bitumen.
The partnership brings together the three companies’ existing capabilities. Shell will provide technology and product-development expertise for advanced bitumen and circular-economy solutions. Tiki Tar will contribute manufacturing capacity, logistics infrastructure and knowledge of the Indian market, while BPCL will use its nationwide sales and marketing network to pursue government contracts, public-works projects and large infrastructure developments.
Tiki Tar operates six manufacturing plants located at Taloja, Halol, Palwal, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Pithampur. BPCL said the facilities give the joint venture immediate and scalable production capacity, although it did not disclose the venture’s investment amount, production targets or expected sales.
“India’s roads and highways are witnessing historic growth with accelerated demand for highly durable value-added bitumen,” BPCL Director of Marketing Subhankar Sen said. He added that the partnership was intended to expand BPCL’s product portfolio and support the quality requirements of major state infrastructure projects, including those linked to the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
The companies said the joint venture would focus on value-added solutions as demand shifts from conventional paving bitumen towards high-performance and application-specific materials. Bharat Tiki Tar Shell Chairman Manoj Menon said the company aimed to supply products that respond to changing requirements in highways, roads, airports and logistics infrastructure.
The venture also plans to introduce solutions intended to reduce emissions and increase waste circularity in the paving industry. BPCL did not provide details of the proposed products, their environmental performance, timelines or implementation model.
The formation of the company comes as India continues to expand transport infrastructure, creating demand for specialised paving materials alongside conventional bitumen. The joint venture’s immediate operations will rely on Tiki Tar’s six plants, Shell’s technology capabilities and BPCL’s access to infrastructure-sector customers.
