Rod Sims, the head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said that thr regulator will evaluate a proposal under which Boral and CSR are planning to combine their east-coast brick operations.

The proposed $230 million joint venture will give more than half the market in some states to the joint venture. The joint venture will help adress issues relating to lower use of bricks in home building, high energy costs and excess capacity in the industry.

Mike Kane, the chief executive officer of Boral has said that the brick production had fallen 46 per cent since 1986. He also said that the company's building products division has emerged from a long period of unprofitability.

"'We've already closed most of our spare capacity. We've taken this business down to the point where the only thing we could do is exit markets, and that would be tragic,'' he said.

He said that the company is not seeking hand-outs or subsidies. The company is just seeking an approval for the joint venture. Experts have said that CSR and Boral had large market shares in bricks.