Lafarge cement used in collapsed Paris terminal-Chairman

Lafarge SA’s cement was used to build the Charles de Gaulle Paris terminal that collapsed May 23, the company’s Chairman Bertrand Collomb told Dow Jones Newswires.

Speaking on the sidelines of an investment conference in Paris, Collomb insisted that Lafarge had only delivered the product, and wasn’t responsible for the technical specifications of the building, masterminded by a building consortium.

The French Transport Ministry said Tuesday that preliminary findings suggested that the "dominant cause" of the partial collapse of the new terminal 2E at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport was "linked to the perforation of the vault by the struts."

It also blamed the poor quality of the concrete for the May 23 disaster, in which falling masonry killed four travelers.

"It’s probable that this perforation was made possible by the prior gradual deterioration of the concrete," the ministry’s statement said.

Collomb said no Lafarge experts are taking part in the investigation into the causes of the collapse.