THE CONSTRUCTION INTERVIEW

Percentage of global material extraction attributable to the buildings and construction sector

He says:“ We have actually used all our resources, we have to keep them in the loop now and other places should be allowed to use new resources to build up but they have to do it by being clever, building more efficiently and building more for the future – so, leapfrogging all the mistakes.”

Having worked with partner countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, he cites Egypt’ s capital, Cairo, as an example. From one visit to another 12-18 months later, he witnessed how the city had rapidly expanded. Where there used to be fields now stood new buildings.

“ They cannot just rely on secondary raw materials,” he goes on.“ They need to be allowed to actually build new buildings and that will need a lot of resources.

“ In Europe, it’ s more about efficiency and how we keep things in the loop. In Africa it’ s more like how do we build up new infrastructure. We will need a lot of resources for that and of course Africa needs to be allowed to use these resources.”

28 October 2026