India has accelerated its pace of infrastructure development since the government launched its Prandan Mantri Gati Shakti national master plan three years ago, but industry leaders at the India Construction Festival held in Mumbai earlier this month they pointed out that more needs to be done to ensure that projects are not just built quickly, but built well.
The $1.2 trillion master plan, launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2021, includes an intermodal mix of road, rail, airport and port and waterway projects aimed at promote greater economic development throughout the country. He recently described the master plan as “a transformative initiative aimed at revolutionizing India’s infrastructure” that will drive “faster and more efficient development across all sectors,” in a public statement.
A former official of the Indian Army’s Border Roads Organization highlighted both recently completed projects such as the 298km Nimum-Padam-Darcha road in the Himalayan mountains, pictured above, and those in progress, at the India Construction Festival in Mumbai in October. 9-10
Photo courtesy of Indian Border Roads Organization
At the Oct. 9-10 construction industry conference, Vipin Sondhi, independent director of the FIRST Construction Council, a non-profit think tank in Mumbai, said the nearly $24 billion construction toll roads launched in fiscal year 2023 increased by 20% compared to the previous year. “The government’s commitment is there,” said Sondhi, a former CEO of several companies in the automotive and construction equipment industries in India, including JCB and Ashok Leyland.
Over the past decade, India has built more than 55,000 km of highways and roads, and the country has the second-largest highway network in the world, according to conference organizer Pratap Padode, founder of FIRST Construction Council of India and editor of several Indian construction publications. . But Padode warned that while a greater focus on crucial infrastructure is a boon for business, entrenched corruption and other systemic issues must also be addressed.
Pratap Padode, founder of the FIRST Council and editor of several Indian construction magazines, noted the challenges that persist in building the trillions of dollars in major transportation projects in India.
Photo courtesy of ASAPP Info Global Group
While many deaths and accidents on roads are not necessarily related to how they are designed and built, in some cases, “poor and thoughtless road engineering” is a factor, Padode said.
One of the key issues is the “inadequate and flawed” preparation of standard surveys, environmental reviews, hydrology reports and other analyzes that are part of the project’s detailed reports, called DPRs. In some cases, inaccurate data in studies and surveys add to project costs. Other problems include delays in land acquisition and lax project supervision.
“We have to accelerate. We have to shape. We have to reinvent ourselves to deliver the best,” he said.
While several speakers acknowledged the challenges that exist in building large infrastructure projects in India, they also pointed to efforts by companies and government agencies to improve.
Former director general of the Border Roads Organization, now retired Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudry, detailed his efforts to make project procurement and payment more transparent and efficient. He attributed some of the progress made in recent years to India’s national online procurement portal, called the Government e-marketplace, which was launched in 2016 and is now set to become the world’s largest public procurement platform.
