“The construction equipment industry can hope to expect a 40 per cent increase in sales in the near future, as the Central government is pumping huge amounts of investment in road and other infrastructure projects,” said Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Speaking after the inaugurating the 10th edition of CII’s construction equipment trade fair – Excon 2019 in Bengaluru, Gadkari urged the private players in the construction industry to focus on mechanisation, adoption of advanced technologies and global best practices, usage of LNG and bio-fuels, and innovations in using waste materials as raw materials for their construction projects to reduce the cost of construction and pollution.

“The projects are many under waterways, airports, ports, and smart cities. But the private sector should focus on bringing down the cost of construction and pollution only then we can do business,” he requested.

Gadkari further said that the Prime Minister’s vision is to make India a $5-trillion economy. To achieve this goal, the government is embarking on major infrastructure and industrial projects worth ₹100 lakh crore.

“For the road sector alone, the Centre is investing ₹2 lakh crore this year. The amount of investment for the next year will increase to ₹3 lakh crore. Within the next five years, the total government spend on the road infrastructure will be about ₹17 lakh crore,” he said.

In his address, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that Karnataka is an emerging hub for construction equipment, component outsourcing base and design base. The State presents huge business opportunities for the construction industry, as it is embarking on major infrastructure development projects in roads & flyovers, industrial infrastructure and power.

Vikram S Kirloskar, President, CII, said the cost of doing business in India is set to come down as the government is keen on rebooting the infrastructure in roads, ports, railways, waterways by fast-tracking infrastructure projects. The construction equipment industry can face the tough market situation prevailing now by focusing on being ready for Industry 4.0 and reinventing itself.

In his special address, Azim Premji, Founder, Chairman Wipro Limited, said that a well-planned, modern infrastructure is extremely important for India to achieve its $5 trillion target. Currently, India spends about 5 per cent of its GDP towards infrastructure development. It should increase it at least to 6 per cent, which is what China spends for its infrastructure development.