Concrete consumption is expected to quadruple in India as the predominant expense in various activities during the next four years, even as builders and developers in the construction industry turn to converting even rubble into bricks for meeting building needs, said Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India while kickstarting the 6th edition of the three-day Concrete Show India in Mumbai today.
Noting that the last few years witnessed a phenomenal growth in concrete consumption across roads and railways to airports and smart city initiatives in building world-class facilities across India, he said the Union Budget 2018’ boost of over Rs 5.97 trillion for infrastructure would see this sector witness a massive positive shift in 2018-19, and this Concrete Show is seeing a kind of industry comeback that validates this industry’s potential including through over 150 Indian and global companies showcasing access in this sector.
Thiruman Archunan, Director Projects, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, said the Concrete Show’s conferences had come at the right time with the Central Government’s commitment to Rs 5 lakh crore expenditure – and Rs 50 lakh crore in the next five years – towards setting up infrastructure where Rs 10 crore is being spent annually. The railways has a huge potential in its ‘dedicated corridor’ for which Rs 45,000 crores has been spent so far out of the budgeted Rs 90,000 crores, he said while highlighting an urgent requirement of “Semi-Hi-Speed” (150 kmph) trains in India.
“Concrete technology includes 20 different types of concrete including +Green+ concrete in reducing polluting emissions, and Hi-density performing concrete has solved many problems in construction usage,” he said, adding “Delhi’s population is 3.2 crore at present (which is equal to Kerala’s total population) and the next 2 to 3 years will witness the Delhi Metro becoming the 4th largest in the world with its 373 kms network.”
“With sand becoming a needy yet not much available resource for construction, +artificial+ sand – obtained by finely crushing stones and gravel – is cheaply serving the need of the hour in such activities,” S M Ramchandani, Retd, MSRDC ltd, said while adding that such artificial necessities are helping many intercity projects to see the light of day including the Mumbai-Pune, and the 700-kms-long, +Nagpur-Mumbai Prosperity Project+ which “started at a cost of Rs 25,000 crores and today witnesses a cost runup of Rs 45,000 crores.”
To questions about whether imports from China or other countries was needed for concrete supply demand in setting up various infrastructure in India, S K Gupta, Director Projects, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd — which is constructing the Metro Rail in Mumbai — said “Where our concrete supply is concerned, we have presently enough to meet our needs in our Metro projects. However, we are using local sand as sea sand usage is not feasible in this activity.”
Earlier, Jogen Holst, Director EPTISA Consulting Engineers, said the Concrete Show’s conferences will highlight challenges faced by the construction industry like sustainability, durability and lifetime expectations in many projects that included a 22–kms-long, six lane bridge. Billions of dollars have been invested in India’s modern infrastructure projects of which concrete structures were a major part, and US$ one trillion was to be invested in the next five years, he said while stating that focus is on finding sustainable solutions in meeting environmental challenges, life cycle costs, construction technology, lifetime expectations of upto 120 years for bridges and tunnels and covered/underground structures, use of fibre-reinforced concrete and self-compacting concrete that is being used globally.
Meanwhile, the Concrete Show here highlighted key areas including roads and highways, housing, airports, ports, power, rail, tunnels, dams and bridges, while bringing together over 150 Indian and global suppliers and manufacturers from industries like Concrete & Construction, related equipment and chemicals, commercial and industrial flooring, automation, software (ERP, project management and design) mobile construction tools and instruments under one roof.
