ILC Group: Rehan Huck, VP-Retail

Advanced technologies like prefab and steel frame construction double the cost of the projects but reduce completion time by more than half; so, one has to take a wise call.

No amount of AI can actually help you build the labour or material.
The ILC Group is currently integrating all the latest technologies such as BIM, IoT, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence to ensure smooth operations at our projects. We also have 24-hour monitoring tools for keeping an eye from a remote, biometrics for marking the attendance and CCTV cameras for ensuring the safety and progress.

We are conducting virtual meetings at almost every alternative day to keep the checks and balances. However, at the same time, the actual labour work at the site with the construction team is still taking place in a traditional way as no amount of AI can actually help you build the labour or material.

Video calls and online sessions have become a common method of communication with our backend activities, including our consultants for parking systems, landscaping and other jobs. We have built quarantine bio-bubbles for the workers at all our construction sites. Here, we take care of their basic needs like food and medical supplies. We also try to minimize their fatigue by screening movies and playing music, and we ensure their workload management and proper shifts.


The major disruption came when the government banned all construction activities which was later relaxed for developers following the necessary Covid-19 protocols.
Currently, we are in the middle of construction of various projects like a 3 lakh sq.ft. IT building in Gurgaon Sector 62; a 2.5 lakh sq.ft. high street retail project in Gurgaon Sector 69; and we are about to commence the development of a 1.1 million sq.ft office tower in Gurgaon Sector 66.

We have been facing acute labour challenges at the sites where construction was underway. But we are better-equipped this time as compared to the 2020 lockdown as now there is more clarity on the protocols and guidelines to be followed. Moreover, we have set up our own labour camps near the development sites with all the quarantine norms in place.

Our operational malls were also badly hit by the pandemic, and we had to employ minimal staff for running them. We have ensured that all these activities take place with the approval of the regulatory authorities under the category of essential services. Also, as regards our leasing and end-to-end services for mall developers, which comes under Arklan and Propel, respectively, most of our clients have been affected by the pandemic, which has caused a delay in the negotiations.