Investment in Joint Venture

CRH PLC
01 August 2006


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                                                                   1 August 2006



                CRH INVESTS IN CEMENT JOINT VENTURE IN FLORIDA

CRH plc, the international building materials group, announces that its US
subsidiary, Oldcastle Materials, Inc., has taken a 50% equity stake in American
Cement Company, LLC (ACC), for a cash contribution of US$50 million. Oldcastle
Materials' partners in ACC are the shareholders of Trap Rock Industries, a major
regional construction materials and contracting company in New Jersey.  ACC has
been formed to develop and operate a cement plant in central Florida.  Senior
debt to finance the installation of the facility will be provided to ACC by
Oldcastle Materials.



The new cement plant and associated facilities, for which planning and
permitting approvals have been received, will be located in Sumterville, close
to Orlando and Tampa in Florida, on an ACC-owned deposit which contains over 150
million tons of high quality limestone reserves.  The plant will have an annual
capacity of 1.1 million tonnes, and is expected to commence production in late
2008.


Florida is one of the strongest construction markets in the US and has very
positive long-term demographic growth trends.  While the CRH Products &
Distribution Division in the Americas already has significant operations in
Florida, this is Oldcastle Materials'  first investment in the region and is an
entry into the cement sector in the US.


CRH's Europe Materials Division produces almost 13 million tonnes of cement
annually at facilities in Finland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland,
Tunisia and Ukraine.


Commenting on this investment, Tom Hill, CEO of Oldcastle, Inc., said:  'The
outlook for the Florida construction sector is excellent and, with up to 40% of
total annual cement consumption in the state currently being imported, we
believe there is real need for the local production capacity which ACC's new
facility will add.'


Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 ([phone])

Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive

Myles Lee, Finance Director

Eimear O'Flynn, Head of Investor Relations

Maeve Carton, Group Controller


      CRH plc, Belgard Castle , Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland   

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