Construction Is The Key To Revive Indian Economy, Says Director General CIDC
- Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) would be hosting a 5-day online India Construction Week 2020 from December 1-5, 2020 –
BK Jha @ BR Bureau
Construction and infrastructure development are the base for any economy to thrive and unprecedented global crisis- COVID-19 has thrown a big challenge to each country and the Indian Construction Industry is gearing up to play a catalytic role in revival the economy which has been hit very badly in the last eight months, said Dr PR Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC).
“Construction is the key to revival any economy as it affects anyone and everyone. Whenever there is a pandemic or natural disaster, it is construction and infrastructure development sectors that take a lead in reviving the consumption. If construction activities are sluggish, it affects Cement, Steel, Equipment, Material and several local industries. In India, it employs nearly four crore people. Hence, it is critical to give a push to the construction industry to revive our economy. Otherwise, we would be in recession,” he told BR.
The construction industry across the world has borne extreme losses due to onslaught of COVID pandemic, so much so, that the pain and scars inflicted upon the industry, due to damages and losses, will haunt its stakeholders for a long time to come.
“Even today, the pandemic is far from being over, and the damages and losses are continuing unabated. The green shoots are, however, visible as the industry operations have started under the shadow of the pandemic. To heal and revive the construction industry, what we need are collaborative and joint actions by constituents. These, irrespective of the presence of pandemic, will hasten the industry recovery process bringing our industry back to its pre-COVID status as quickly as possible,” said the Director General.
“We need to focus on the current situations, evolve recovery guidelines, systems and procedures to address emergencies of various types that have evolved in almost all segments of Construction Industry, and create or rejuvenate networks of individuals and bodies to meet the challenges in the Post-COVID world,” he added.
The targets set by the government for various sub-sectors of construction seem to have been overtaken by the COVID crisis. These need to be reviewed and specific targets set under the changed circumstances. Due to the reduced capacity of the industry and the financing institutions, interaction of the government with the industry constituents seems necessary on the way forward.
The CIDC has conceptualised India Construction Week (December 1-5, 2020) to come out with a blueprint for revival of the economy. The 5-day Online International Conference and Exhibition is being organised by CIDC, the apex organization of Indian Construction Industry, jointly with Indian Society for Trenchless Technology and supported by associate organizations from India and abroad.
This event shall also showcase the current potential of the industry in the recovery process. The industry is looking for a clearer roadmap being laid down by the government for revival of the sector.
“It would be the largest assembly of over 10,000 participants across the world. Experts and senior officials from Government of India and abroad have been invited on this platform to discuss the way ahead for the revival of the economy. These issues and some other topical issues shall also be taken up during the conference on ‘Reviving Construction Industry in Post COVID World,’ Dr Swarup said.
“In these trying times, it is essential that the construction & trenchless industry stakeholders should stand up together to meet the challenges posed by COVID, and present viable solutions to the construction industry. Needless to mention, owing to grooving business volumes, these actions would also help all stakeholders, to advance the trenchless applications, thereby gaining through this development, in addition to solving the problems,” he added.
Among various unprecedented situations faced by the Infrastructure Construction sector due to COVID19 Pandemic, financing of new projects & Bank Guarantees, limits and liquidity etc. of the on-going projects are facing challenges. Similarly, banks are facing problems due to the risks involved in recovery from the infra sector together with the legacy NPA issues. We are deeply engaged in discussions with Banks to discuss the way forward on such issues which affect all stakeholders.
India Construction Week-2020 shall deliberate on the critical issues and chart course of action to be followed by the Industry to come out of current state and become vibrant soon. The Week is a multi-stream event planned to have several integral events ranging from Conferences, Live Shows, Interactive Exhibition, Live Visits to projects and/or production facilities of exhibitors, Technical Training Programs, Release of guidelines and technical publications, and launch of training portal to meet the training and education needs for a fast revival of the industry.
The deliberations during the event shall help both government and corporate sectors, to identify the problems and issues with a focussed approach and find solutions and work out a way forward. The targets set by the government for various sub-sectors of construction seem to have been overtaken by the COVID crisis. These need to be reviewed and specific targets set under the changed circumstances.
Due to the reduced capacity of the industry and the financing institutions, interaction of the government with the industry constituents seems necessary on the way forward. This event shall also showcase the current potential of the industry in the recovery process. The industry is looking for a clearer roadmap being laid down by the government for revival of the sector.
