The State of the Project Economy 2026 report from Foundamental found that India was the second-largest single-country contributor to global construction growth between 2020 and 2030. India and China together accounted for nearly 40 per cent of growth over the period, and global capital expenditure was increasingly concentrated in five countries: India, China, the United States, Germany and France. The report put India’s share at 14.1 per cent, behind China at 26.1 per cent and ahead of the United States at 11.1 per cent.

Global construction spending reached US$15.97 tn in 2024 and was projected to reach US$19.86 tn by 2028, implying a compound annual growth rate of five point six per cent. Infrastructure was identified as the fastest-growing major segment, expanding at five point one per cent between 2020 and 2025. The report noted that India’s infrastructure market was forecast to grow at around eight per cent annually through the decade.

Foundamental linked India’s rising share of capital expenditure to an infrastructure agenda, rapid urbanisation, manufacturing-led growth and investment in logistics, transportation and energy networks. The firm observed that expansion in India is increasingly driven by discrete, time-bound projects across infrastructure, energy, real estate and manufacturing rather than routine operations. The report summarised five structural drivers of the project economy: re-industrialisation, data centres, energy infrastructure, civil infrastructure and defence projects.

The report forecast that global data centre construction would double by 2030 versus 2018 and could add between 10 and 15 per cent to the construction market, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. It also highlighted the consequent need for substantial investment in power generation, transmission and grid modernisation and noted that the United States may require the equivalent of 35 nuclear plants’ worth of new power. The report concluded that India was well placed to benefit from simultaneous long-term trends and would remain an influential contributor to construction growth through 2030 and beyond.