Expect 40% increase in sales: Nitin Gadkari to the construction equipment industry

Delivering his inaugural address at CII’s 10th edition of Excon 2019 in Bengaluru, one of South Asia’s leading construction equipment trade fair, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, has 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 Rs.100 trillion.

He emphasised that the construction equipment industry could hope to expect a 40 per cent increase in sales in the near future, as the government is pumping huge amounts of investment in road and other infrastructure projects such as the development of waterways, airports, ports, and smart cities. “But the private sector should focus on bringing down the cost of construction and pollution,” he urged.

The minister further advised 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 in order to reduce the cost of construction and pollution. He also directed attention towards the Centre’s efforts to boost the roads segment.

“For the road sector alone, the Centre is investing Rs.2 trillion this year. Investment for next year will increase to Rs.3 trillion,” he said, adding that within the next five years, total government spend on the road infrastructure will be about Rs.17 trillion.