The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has finally been completed – after 144 years. Closer to our times, even the best-resourced projects have struggled: Apple Park overshot timelines and costs; Berlin Brandenburg Airport was delayed by nearly nine years. Delays are often criticised. But here is the more uncomfortable question: Are we, in India, underestimating the time required for complex infrastructure? As of January 2026, over 1,700 central sector projects (`150 crore and above) have seen cost overruns of `5.52 lakh crore. At first glance, this suggests inefficiency. But dig deeper – and a different reality emerges. The National Highways Builders Federation has flagged a critical concern: A 200-km greenfield, access-controlled BOT project is expected to be completed in just two years. Given land acquisition, utility shifting, structures, interchanges and safety requirements, such timelines strain even the best capabilities. The Delhi-Vadodara Expressway, still under execution after five years, underlines this complexity. The Ram Mandir project was also rushed to meet political deadlines. Several flyovers and bridges have faced completion pressures and suffered. Recently, the NHAI’s three highway projects of 912 km worth `18,884 crore did not elicit bids. Reasons cited include lack of arbitration facilities and a crunched timeline. Infrastructure today is no longer linear. We are building underground corridors, sea links, tunnels beneath dense urban zones. When we: • Compress timelines • Restrict dispute resolution • Push aggressive financial closures. We may not be accelerating delivery – we may be compounding risk. Sustainability is not just about carbon. It is about longevity, lifecycle cost, and resilience. A structure built in haste but requiring premature repairs is neither efficient nor sustainable. True sustainability lies in building assets that endure and currently our record is patchy. (Recently, Vikramshila Setu, a key bridge 4.4 km in length in Bhagalpur, which was inaugurated in 2001, that connects northern and southern Bihar, is on the verge of collapse after at least three key pillars suffered structural damage.) At IIT Bombay’s AAKAR event, I asked a hall full of civil engineering students: “What ails India today?”The answer was unanimous: “Corruption.” But the more telling moment came later. When asked how many had visited a live project site, only a handful raised their hands. That is the real GAP. Our education system remains overly theoretical. Companies like L&T and Afcons have become de facto finishing schools, where engineers first encounter reality. If we are serious about building India, we must start by building better engineers.  Vocational exposure must begin early  Site visits must be integral, not optional  Practical training must carry equal weight as theory. Before we speak of Skilling India, we must ensure we are not merely producing degree-holders.There is a third shift we can no longer ignore. The world is entering a phase of heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Supply chains are strained. Logistics costs are volatile. Imports are becoming expensive. Export markets are uncertain. For infrastructure – an industry heavily dependent on materials, equipment and global linkages – this changes the equation. Cost management is no longer a finance function. It is a strategic capability. This is where technology must step in decisively: • Digital twins to simulate project risks before execution • AI-driven procurement to optimise sourcing and pricing • IoT-based equipment monitoring to reduce downtime • Data-led planning to minimise rework and delays. Technology is no longer an efficiency enhancer. It is a margin protector. Those who adopt it will remain competitive. Those who do not will struggle to absorb rising costs. India stands at the cusp of its largest infrastructure build-out. But scale without discipline is a risk. We must: • Build sustainably, not hurriedly • Train practitioners, not just graduates • Manage costs intelligently, not reactively.Follow m Follow me on Linkedin e on twitter @PratapPadode