Transport Minister rolls out Rs.3 lakh-cr projects

INDO-US Infra Summit

Accelerating the process of exploring newer business avenues in the surging Indian infrastructure sector, Indo-American Chambers of Commerce (IACC), the only bilateral chamber for the promotion of Indo-US business relations, recently organized a high profile one-day Infrastructure summit in New Delhi, where think tanks from the business bodies, policy makers, government heads, bureaucrats and a large number of infra builders from private sector participated and exchanged views to make the most out of the available business opportunities in infrastructure sector.

The Chairman Infrastructure Committee, NIC, Mr. Ashish Wig in his welcome address said that the significance of the summit gains more importance after Prime Minister of India visited USA in September last year when in a joint statement both the leaders, Narendra Modi and Barrack Obama, mentioned that in the infrastructure development of India an active participation of US Companies is vital and it must be encouraged further. In this connection, they coined a new phrase "Chalen Hum Sath Sath (Let's Move Together)" in the focused areas of Building Roads, Ports and Railways. It was also agreed upon that in the year 2015, USA would send two Business Delegations to India to explore the possibilities of forging JVs in these fields.

In fact, Indo American Chamber of Commerce along with its branch in Texas in USA took the lead and organized the first visit of US Delegations from Houstan, USA, comprising representative from all the three identified segments of infrastructure, he added.

Nitin Gadkari
In his Inaugural address, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, who was the Chief Guest at the function, announced that the government has fast tracked the entire process of clearances and project delivery mechanism. As a result of which a large number of global infrastructure investors and builders have started taking interest in the country's road and highway sector. Ending the decade old logjam, the government has cleared infrastructure projects worth Rs.1.5 lakh crore that were stuck due to various regulatory hurdles and it is currently in the process of creating a shelf of 500 ready to bid projects worth Rs.3 lakh crore. This is in addition to rolling out Rs.1.8 lakh crore, which were lying stalled. In total, the government is all set to roll out Rs.2 lakh crore projects this year, besides, building 1000 kms of expressways. Apart from this, it is also contemplating to build 2 lakh km of roads under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode which includes widening of existing 1 lakh km of highways as a result of which the PPP model will offer huge business opportunities to offshore investors. The minister also revealed that the government has set a target of awarding road projects with a length of 8,500 km during this fiscal as against a target of 9,638 km in the preceding fiscal. In view of the builders' half-hearted attitude for PPP model, the government has decided to award projects on EPC model, for the revival of this sector. A few foreign investors, including IJM Corporation Berhad, a leading construction group in Malaysia, have shown interest in the projects like Eastern Peripheral Expressway worth Rs.4,489 crore for a stretch of 135 km, Bhatinda-Amritsar worth Rs.1,899 crore for 175 km and Ambala -Kaithal worth Rs.878 crore for a length of 95 km and also for the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. It is worth mentioning here that all these projects were bid under both models to save costs, time and uncalled for delay in the project awarding process.

Adding to the momentum, the Minister said that the government is currently concentrating on the cost cutting ensuring durability, quality and cost efficiency by building concrete roads using cement instead of bitumen in the country's highway sector. In this connection, initial evaluation indicated that the concrete roads are more durable, low on maintenance but cost around 10% more and the prices quoted by cement companies may narrow the gap to 2-3% and the original plan is to get the Transport Ministry to enter into long-term contracts with cement manufacturers to check against price volatility. Though the construction cost for concrete roads and those using bitumen become similar but the roads built by using cement don't need maintenance for 15-20 years, so the overall investment will come down.

InDo-American Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Edward M. Emmett, Hon'ble Judge, Harris County, Texas, USA, who was leading the delegation from the US also addressed the participants and dignitaries. The other eminent speakers during the Inaugural Session included Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Regional Vice President, NIC; Mr. Atul Sharma Former Regional President, NIC; Mr. Asoke K Laha, National President, IACC; and Mr. John M McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy.

The welcome Inaugural sessions were followed by technical sessions on Ports, Highways and Railways.

Fast tracking the Port, infrastructure building process across ports in the country, the Minister disclosed that all the 12 major port trusts of the country have jointly decided to set up a new entity, which has been named as the Port Infrastructure Vikas Nigam Limited (PIVNL). The new company, which will solely focus on building world class infrastructure across ports, is being formed with equity stakes from all 12 major ports and Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) with a 90:10 shareholding pattern with initial authorized capital worth Rs.100 crore.

Mr. J.P Batra, Former Chairman, Indian Railways, said in his Keynote address that the Indian rail sector has opened up huge investment opportunities for foreign players. The new government has fast tracked the project building process and outlined areas open for private and foreign direct investment (FDI) and also identified as many as 38 specific projects with potentials to attract FDI worth Rs.90,000cr. This also included some of the high profile projects like Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor involving an investment worth Rs.63,180 crore. In addition, they also included a Rs.14,000 crore Mumbai CST-Panvel suburban corridor and a Rs.1,200cr coach manufacturing factory at Kanchrapara in West Bengal. The ministry listed 17 areas for private and foreign investment, including suburban corridor projects, high-speed train projects, freight lines, rolling stock manufacture and electrification including signalling.
ICEMA Organizes Annual Session on CE Industry
The 2023 Annual Session of ICEMA (Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association) focused on Innovation, Investment, Sustainability and Localization as key imperatives for growth and presented perspectives of industry experts. Union Road

Read more ...

CVF Off Highway Forum - Shaping the Future of Indian Off Highway Equipment Markets
The highly anticipated CVF Off Highway Forum set to take place on August 24th, 2023, at Eros Hotel, New Delhi, will provide a platform for industry professionals to exchange ideas, explore collaborations, and drive innovation. This event will bring

Read more ...

First edition of Construction Tradeshow ‘Gujarat CONEX 2023’ to be held from 21st to 23rd September
Gujarat CONEX 2023, an international trade fair for Construction Machinery, Building Materials & Machines, Mining Machines, and Construction Vehicles is being organized by K and D Communication and Messe Muenchen India in collaboration

Read more ...

CSIR - CRRI Organises ‘One Week One Lab’ Campaign Highlights Waste to Wealth Initiatives
CSIR - CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) hosted a week-long celebration across four major cities - Delhi, Hyderabad, Odisha, and Shillong, during 16 July to 22 July, that showcased the technological breakthroughs and innovations of the CSIR

Read more ...

NATCON 2023 - Fostering knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation within the construction sector
ACCE(I) - the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India) recently organized NATCON 2023 (National Convention of Civil Engineers), a conference titled ‘Building Tall and Resilient’ hosted by the Hyderabad Centre. The event witnessed an overwhelming

Read more ...

Thermax Construction Chemicals hosts गपशप 2023
Thermax Construction Chemicals hosted an innovative forum in the construction space on June 8, 2023, bringing together numerous professionals, industry leaders, and distinguished guests at The Westin in Koregaon Park, Pune. The event served as an

Read more ...

Niftylift’s HR17E wins HAE Product of the Year
The Hire Association Europe (HAE) runs the Hire Awards of Excellence, which took place on 22 April, 2023 at the Grosvenor House in London. The awards celebrate the achievements of hire and supply companies across UK’s plant, tool, equipment, and event

Read more ...

Fintech and Data Analytics to enable Future-Ready Financing Ecosystem for CE & Infrastructure: ICEMA
ICEMA (Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association), an affiliate body of CII, organised the 4th Annual Finance Conclave in New Delhi, based on the theme ‘Bringing a Paradigm Shift in Financial Eco-system: Digitalisation and Beyond

Read more ...

CICEE 2023 - Showcases China’s Manufacturing Strength to the World
As one of the top global events in terms of reputation, influence, and industrial driving force, the third Changsha International Construction Equipment Exhibition (CICEE) kicked off on 12th May 2023 in the Changsha city of Hunan province. It showcased

Read more ...

Technology Days at WIRTGEN GROUP, Pune
The Wirtgen Group hosted over 1200 customers, dealers, and business partners at a mega event dubbed ‘Technology Days’, which was held at their Pune manufacturing facility from 13th to 15th April, 2023. The event was based on the theme: ‘The Future

Read more ...

CONEXPO-CON/AGG - Reveals the Future of Construction
CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 emphasizes how the construction industry is evolving and adapting to technologies, products, and sustainable practices. Attendees saw sustainability in action, from electric and hydrogen powered construction equipment

Read more ...

VDMA organizes Emo Hannover Machine Tools Roadshow
VDMA organized a roadshow in Delhi in association with the German Machine Tools Builders Association and Hannover Messe AG to promote the EMO Hannover, Machine Tools Expo, slated to take place between 18-23 September 2023 at Hannover

Read more ...

Spotlight on Sustainable Technologies at bauma CONEXPO India 2023
The sixth edition of bauma CONEXPO India closed on a high note with the launch of 25+ electric and hybrid heavy machines, 10,000+ product displays, insightful conferences and technical sessions, and an exciting line-up of next-generation technologies

Read more ...

World of Concrete - at Las Vegas Returns with Strong Attendance
Concrete professionals kicked off the year with the well-attended 49th annual event that focused on product innovations, environmental impacts, and raised record-breaking auction funds for educational programs. Informa Markets’ World of Concrete, the

Read more ...

2023 CICEE Spring Symposium in Beijing
On January 15, 2023, the Organizing Committee of Changsha International Construction Equipment Exhibition (CICEE) held the 2023 Spring Symposium in Beijing. Representatives and experts from national business associations such as the China Construction

Read more ...

MRAI hosts 10th edition of IMRC
IMRC 2023 puts spotlight on domestic scrap shortage, recycling parks, and solutions for boosting India’s circular economy. Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI hosted the 10th edition of the International Indian Material Recycling Conference from

Read more ...

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme critical for growth of Construction Equipment Manufacturing in India
Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) organised the first-ever CE Manufacturing Summit on 2nd December at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi, with the theme “Towards Making India a Global Manufacturing Hub for CE”. The day-long affair

Read more ...

ISEE Expo concludes with a vision for India to become a global manufacturing hub for the elevator and escalator industry
The International Sourcing Exposition for Elevators & Escalators (ISEE) successfully concluded in Mumbai on December 3rd, 2022. The expo, organized by TAK Expo Pvt Ltd, featured over 150 international and domestic exhibitors showcasing the latest technology in elevators

Read more ...

ICACI unveils Modern Trends in Construction Technology
The two-day conference on ‘Modern Trends in Construction Technology’ hosted by the India Chapter of American Concrete Institute’s (ICACI) was a resounding success. It brought together India’s leading technocrats on a single platform to present, discuss

Read more ...

bauma Munich 2022 Showcases Industry’s Power to Innovate
With around 3,200 exhibitors from 60 countries, and over 495,000 visitors from ~200 countries, bauma Munich 2022 exceeds Industry expectations. Bauma Munich - the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material

Read more ...