The boom in our construction sector has also led to a boom in Basic Industries Limited’s profits.

Basic Industries Limited is made up of two major divisions, Standard Concrete Indus­tries and Humes.

Fijian Holdings Limited Group chief execu­tive officer Nouzab Fareed said Basic Indus­tries is one of the highest contributors to the Group.

Last year, the company had recorded a rev­enue of $83.55million which is a 7.1 per cent increase from $78 million in the previous year.

A major factor to the company’s successful year is a result of the buoyant local building and industry market, driven by the govern­ment’s roads and infrastructure projects.

“In the last two to three years, the company’s profit was driven by the construction of resi­dences. Now we are shifting to the big projects like buildings and so on.

“There is a boom in the construction sector which is why we are doing extremely well,” said Mr Fareed.

As the leading manufacturer in the country, Basic Industries constantly invests in their fa­cilities to produce the best results.

Mr Fareed said the company are experts in making materials and is a trusted brand lo­cally, regionally and internationally.

Last year, the Group had invested a total of $35million towards its property plants and equipment.

Basic Industries had received $9 million to upgrade their facilities.

Mr Fareed said the Group wants to “put the money where it matters”.

“In the Pacific, Fiji has the best quarry ag­gregates which is why we export.

“Last year we exported more than 20 000 tons around the Pacific,” said Mr Fareed.

Basic Industries exports quarry aggregates, concrete blocks, pipes and other concrete products to all Pacific Island countries.

Its facilities are located in Nasinu, Lomolo­mo, Sabeto, Lodoni and Wailatua.

Humes Industries, is another company that has contributed tremendously to Basic Indus­tries’ revenue.

The project based company specialises in building bridges, homes and buildings to name a few.

“A product that Humes Industries specialises in, is constructing buildings using pre-cast panels. In the future, houses and buildings will not be built using concrete blocks but pre-cast panels.

“This is the future of the concrete business. It is cheaper, faster and safer to build houses,” said Mr Fareed.

The company was recently awarded a tender to build seven government homes.

“We feel confident with Humes as there is a lot of demand for its services in the market,” said Mr Fareed.