Conference convenor and Office bearers of ICACI light the lampThe conference, which was co-sponsored by American Concrete Institute (ACI) and a host of like-minded technical associations, drew an audience of over 250 professionals, designers, consultants and academicians from the government and private sector, who came to network and learn the best practices.
The highlight of the conference was its interactive format and interesting subject matter, with stalwarts like Dr. Manu Santhanam of IIT, Chennai, speaking on the technology, sustainability, and future of 3D Printing for Mass Housing. This was followed by a powerhouse presentation on Supertall Building Design and Execution by Er. Vinay Gupta, CEO, Tandon Consultants and President of Indian Concrete Institute.
Winning students of ICACI’s many yearly competitions strike a pose with ICACI Board membersHigh-impact technical presentations on Use of Construction Demolition Waste by Dr. Sivakumar Kandasami of L&T, The Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, by Er. Sandeep Sharma of Afcons, and a talk on post-pandemic recovery and use of smart materials by Dr. S. K. Manjrekar, Past President ICACI, provided insights on the latest technological advancements.
Presentations on Precast Pavements, The Mumbai Trans – Harbour Link, The Mumbai Coastal Road, Execution of Massive Oil and Gas Facilities by EIL, Passive Fire Protection, Practical 3-D Printing, Modern Structural Design, BIM, Fast Track Precast Construction and Modern Prestressing Methods, and Modern Demolition Techniques rounded up the wide scope of Modern Technologies.
A full houseChetan Raikar, Conference Convenor, noted: “We are delighted by the overwhelming response that we have received from our first in-person event post the Covid pandemic. The star attraction was the superlative technical content – combining the best of contemporary Indian works with in-depth academic research – delivered by industry experts. It was very rewarding to see people travelling from all parts of India, including Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Gujarat to attend the event and learn about the country’s engineering marvels.”
Sunny Surlaker, President- ICACI, added: “Rich technical content, networking opportunities, support of the world’s most renowned professional and private organizations, student activities, and the prestigious Constructions Awards programme made the conference a huge success. We are already geared up to roll out yet another stellar event.”
ICACI President Mr. Sunny Surlaker takes centre stageThe show-stopper event on the first day of the conference was the glittering awards ceremony celebrating distinguished winners of ICACI’s ‘Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards’ over the past 3 years. More than 30 illustrious projects, including the 351 feet tall Shiva Statue at Udaipur, The Motera Cricket Stadium, The Cave that Travelled, Buildings, Metros and other iconic structures in over 7 categories were honoured in the presence of industry stalwarts.
The student fraternity is an integral stakeholder for ICACI, and last day of the conference ended with ICACI honouring student winners with its yearly Concrete Cube Testing and Essay Competitions. 15-plus teams participated in the Chapter’s Student Awards programme.
The India Chapter of ACI, one of the largest Chapters, is in its 43rd year of operations and is privileged to receive the ‘Excellent Chapter’ award from ACI for over two decades. Its objective is to gather, correlate and disseminate information for improvement in the design, manufacture, use and maintenance of concrete structures and products.
