P.V. Prasanth, Director - Operations & Technology, Shapoorji Pallonji E&C

A good order backlog with companies, government’s investments in infrastructure projects, and more foreign capital inflows in Real Estate, will continue to drive construction demand.
The business operations in the first two quarters of FY2020-21 have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. We are now in the exit-lockdown phase and are seeing improvements in the labour situation and the supply chain is also getting restored. Things should gradually improve during the remaining period of the year. Most companies have a good order backlog and the government’s investments in infrastructure projects will continue to drive construction demand. In the Real Estate sector, we expect more foreign capital inflows, which will lead to its recovery. In FY 2021-22, we expect the industry to return to the pre-Covid levels of activity and financial turnover.
We expect the emergence of a new set of investors and vendors who will offer services and equipment on pay per use or rental model.
It is also pertinent to note that CAPEX investments will slow down due to the financial stress that most companies are experiencing. However, we expect the emergence of a new set of investors and vendors who will offer services and equipment on pay per use or rental model. In addition, we are exploring alternative financial models for CAPEX investments.
The construction industry has to necessarily embrace new technologies in order to stay relevant in the long run. The Government can facilitate by bringing in technology related incentives to encourage technology adoption.
The organisers have taken the right decision by rescheduling the bauma CONEXPO INDIA event to Feb 2021.
The organisers have taken the right decision by rescheduling the bauma CONEXPO INDIA event to Feb 2021. The rescheduling is unavoidable due to the pandemic situation. Hopefully, the situation would improve by then and the industry leaders and delegates would feel safe enough to attend the event. Another option that could be explored is conducting a virtual expo during the present time. It is more relevant to see the new products and offerings now – when we need them most. Also, the target audience and decision makers are relatively free now to witness such an event.