French oil and gas company Total announced the launch of a new joint venture (JV) with refiner and petroleum products marketer Indian Oil Corporation this week to produce bitumen derivatives for the Indian road building market.

“This joint venture would bring in latest technologies and formulation for polymer modified bitumen (PMB) and other fast-growing non-conventional derivatives such as cold mix and micro emulsion, block bitumen, etc. to the Indian market,” said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, chairman of IndianOil, in a release. “The operations of this JV would commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur and subsequently set up new greenfield plants.”

Demand is growing in India for aggregate and manufactured materials for highway construction and rehabilitation applications, according to Total. The country’s government has invested in several major efforts to expand India’s roadway infrastructure in recent years, like the Bharatmala project, which involves the construction of 34,800 km of roads.

The joint venture will serve customers in the government and private sectors who are engaged in road infrastructure development activities.

“India is a strategic country for the future of Total and we are delighted by this partnership, yet another testimony of our commitment to this fast-growing market,” Total Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné in a statement. “Today, Total is further cementing its longstanding business cooperation with IndianOil, into a strong and sustainable new partnership.”