GIC 2026, held in Piacenza as part of the sector forum organized by Concrete News and Ship2Shore, brought together leading European associations, industry experts, and infrastructure stakeholders to discuss the current and future challenges of the concrete and construction ecosystem.
The conference focused on key structural issues affecting the sector, including infrastructure resilience, sustainability, maintenance strategies, and the long-term durability of concrete structures. Case studies such as the Genoa breakwater and the Cortina Olympic bobsleigh track illustrated the increasing complexity and strategic relevance of modern infrastructure projects across Europe.
Within this context, Ivana Liposcak, Technical Sales Manager Europe at Cortec Corporation and member of ACRP, delivered a technical contribution entitled “Re-thinking concrete repair: integrating MCI technology with ACRP guidelines for sustainable durability”.
Her intervention addressed one of the most pressing issues in the European infrastructure landscape: the lack of systematic maintenance of bridges and viaducts. She emphasized that this is not a national but a European-wide structural challenge, where durability must be understood not as an abstract concept, but as a defined design and lifecycle parameter integrated from the earliest project stages.
The discussion highlighted how corrosion protection technologies and structured maintenance approaches can significantly extend service life, reduce lifecycle costs, and improve sustainability outcomes in infrastructure assets.
ACRP’s presence through its member contribution at GIC 2026 reinforces the association’s connection with applied research, industry innovation, and technical dialogue at European level. Events of this nature provide a key platform for aligning academic knowledge, industrial practice, and regulatory evolution in the field of concrete repair and protection.
