After receiving a tremendous response in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Delhi, FIRST CONSTRUCTION COUNCIL with CONSTRUCTION WORLD (CW) made a successful foray to Hyderabad to organise the CONSTRUCTION WORLD Design-Build Conclave & Awards.

Held on June 10 at Hotel Hyatt Gachibowli Hyderabad, the event witnessed the who’s who of the design and build industry – real-estate builders and developers, architectural firms, design firms, government and industry. Therewere two power-packed panel discussions, partner presentations and awards for the ‘Stalwarts of the South – Hyderabad’.

The event was graced by Guest of Honour and Padma Shri BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman & Board Member, CYIENT, who was also felicitated for his contributions to Telangana. While thanking CW, he stated, “The IT sector and innovation hubs are the way to go to grow Hyderabad into an economic powerhouse.”

Pratap Padode, Editor-in-Chief, CW, welcomed the dignitaries, saying, “Hyderabad is becoming one of the first choices for any company looking to set up bays in India.

Hyderabad is a city whose time has come. Out of all the southern cities, the city sports the highest share of supply and demand. Even the demand for housing has seen a 7 per centYoY growth in Q1 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic years. We went from completing 20 km a day to Minister Nitin Gadkari now aspiring to achieve 50 km a day. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently set a new record by achieving 72 km of highway in four days. Evidently, the pace and aspirations of infra construction have doubled over time. We should be proud that we are able to execute and deliver such projects with such speed without compromising on quality.”

In his keynote address, JVS Ramakrishna, Business Leader-Smart Cities & Smart Utilities, L&T, shared insights on the ‘Current Scenario of the Real-Estate Sector. He said, “Telangana has made tremendous progress in technology, as seen in the recent numbers released by the government: 1.8 lakh crore exports from Hyderabad, creating 1.5 lakh jobs and absorbing about 3.4 million sqft of land. Technology has become all pervasive. What we need for the technology industry to prosper is infrastructure.We need quality buildings with value. Therefore, there is immense opportunity for the industry.” He also thanked CWfor the felicitation: “The Construction World Design Build Awards is close to us because as a company we also focus on design and build.”

Further, P Ravi Shankar, Vice President & Head of Transit Oriented Development, Project Control & Contracts – L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad),addressed the ‘Impact of Metro on the Real-Estate Market in Hyderabad’ in his address, saying, “Going forward, real-estate development in urban environments has to be oriented on high-speed corridors. Today Hyderabad cannot imagine itself without metro rail; we have about 3.5-4 lakh people travelling daily. Hyderabad Metro has dispersed development to various parts of the city. Continued growth in infrastructure will only take the city’s development forward.”

Partner presentations

The event also witnessed independent partner presentations by Dheerendra Srivastava, Head (AF star), MS Agarwal Foundries; Sudhir Namboodiri, Specification Manager-South India, Bostik India; andDinesh Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions. As part of his presentation, Aggarwal offered, “We would like to build smart cities on the lines we have built in Japan’s Fujisawa along the various corridors and expressways that are being built to connect cities and populous areas with our technological life solution products.”

Panel Discussion 1: ‘Rethinking Architectural Methodology’

The need to rethinkand improve architectural methodology in the pursuit of better work was the subject of the panel discussion titled ‘Rethinking Architectural Methodology’. Moderated by Ajay Kumar, Senior Executive Director, CBRE, the panel included Ar Ramakrishna Shenoy, Principal Architect, Arkade Sign Studio; ArRupam Dey, Director, SEP Architects; Ar Rajeev Kumar Sharma, Managing Director, Designhaaus; and Ar Raj Amudula, Principal Architect, Raj Architects.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

The ESG (environment, social and governance) buzz is louder than ever as businesses are increasingly focusing on developing forward-looking strategies that take climate, social and ethical issues into consideration.

For the real-estate industry, the spotlight is increasingly on developer and occupied strategies to deliver non-zero targets and contribute to the larger cause of climate change. Rethinking architectural methodology that is ESG compliant could lead to a substantial advancement in real-estate development strategy.

Being future-ready is also about being sustainable and using the existing elements that surround us.

Designs can be smart without technology coming into the picture. Smart designing can eliminate a lot of problems with regard to climate.

BIM is the way forward as it gives 100 per cent accuracy and helps tremendously in reducing wastage.

Technology and development cannot be separated. It depends on how well tech is adapted into buildings and it needs to be smart enough to reduce costs from all aspects.

Labour education is extremely important to reduce wastage on the ground level.

Panel Discussion 2: ‘Builders Connect: Real-Estate Market in Hyderabad Set to Boom’
Next up was a highly interactive panel discussion titled ‘Builders Connect: Real-Estate Market in Hyderabad Set to Boom’. Moderated by Sreekanth Reddy, Sr Director, Cushman & Wakefield, the speakers conversed on best practices for design-build procurement, contracts and project delivery in India,especially in Hyderabad. Eminent speakers included B Sunil Chandra Reddy, President, NAREDCO – Telangana Real-Estate Developers Association; Nanda Kishore M, Managing Director, Ramky Estates & Farms; SP Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director, Terminus Group; Shivani Reddy, Managing Partner, Rami Reddy Constructions; and Shahab Naqvi, B2B & B2G Head, Panasonic.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

The Hyderabad government is extensively focusing on developing the eastern part of Hyderabad to be on a par with the western part of the city with policies like GRID, Growth in Dispersion, and LEAP,the Look East Policy.

The new ITIR is going to create 15 lakh direct jobs and 53 lakh indirect jobs.

In the residential segment, there has been a lot more demand for independent houses like villas and even apartments. People are looking for bigger apartments. There is much greater demand for gated communities from established developers because people want a real improvement in quality of life.

If metro connectivity improves and branches out with all the nodes connected, Hyderabad has the potential to be one of the top cities in the country.

The regional Ring Road is buzzingbecause of how Telangana is. By itself, it is a completely landlocked state and the distance between the capital and most of its major districts is anywhere between 110 to 200 km. ORR and RRR have reduced travel time and increased connectivity.

Owing to ORR and RRR, semi-urban areas are now turning urban or are already areas where investment is progressing. Given this, there are multiple investment opportunities thatwill come in.

The need for sustainable and environment-friendly homes has increased postCOVID. Industry players must move towards synchronising with the demands of homeowners.

Unlimited FSI can provide more greenery and taller high rises but it unfortunately adds a lot of pressure on infrastructure in terms of road networks, water drainage and electricity.

The government is finding it difficult to sell TDRsowing to the unlimited FSI.

In the long term, unlimited FSI may be detrimental to the city’s development.

B Sunil Chandra Reddy let the cat among the pigeons when he raised the hotly debated topic of FSI in Hyderabad. While Sreekanth Reddy asked the Hyderabad builders how they visualised the growth of real estate in Hyderabad, Reddy recounted that the Minister of Urban Development KT Rama Rao has exhorted builders and developers not to compare Hyderabad to other cities in India but to the top 25 cities in the world, as he aims to belong to that prestigious club.

In India, Hyderabad is the only city with FSI anywhere between 9 and 13, with an average hovering in the range of 6 to 7, whereas the national average ranges between 2 and 2.5. While developers like Nanda Kishore from Ramky Estates seemed bullish about the prospects of making Hyderabad among the top Alpha cities of the world, architects Ramakrishna Shenoy and Rajeev Sharma expressed concerns on sustainability. SP Reddy from Terminus Group equated Hyderabad’s offerings to those among the cities in the US and also lauded the government's delivery in support services.

The awards

The event concluded with the CONSTRUCTION WORLD Design-Build Awards that recognised the ‘Stalwarts of the South – Hyderabad’. The awards brought together architects, builders and contractors on a common platform torecognise their noteworthy achievements. The evening was also graced by Surat Singh Malhotra, Honorary Consul, Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Vidyadhar Rao, Director of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), Government of Telangana, and Secretary, RERA, presented the awards to architects and builders. He emphasisedupon the various initiatives taken by them to promote Hyderabad, which follows an unlimited FSI for the past 15 years, where developers can construct as per their choice. Referring to SP Reddy’s appreciation of the state government’s delivery in support services, he added that the government is coordinating the preparation of about 30 to 35 master plans, which have already been completed and are awaiting state clearance.

Stalwarts of the South – Hyderabad
(Alphabetically listed and in no order of ranking)

Aparna Constructions and Estates

Arkade Sign Studio

BSCPL Infrastructure

DesignHaaus

F+S Designs

FHD India Consultants

Genesis Planners

Phoenix Group

Rami Reddy Constructions

Ramky Estate & Farms

SEP Architects

The CONSTRUCTION WORLD Design & Build Conclave and Awards were powered by Panasonic, with MS Agarwal Foundries as Conclave Partner; Co-Partnered by Bostik India; Associate Partner - TATA Pravesh& MYK Arment; Luxury Partner – Mercedes Silver Star; Knowledge Partner – REA INDIA - Housing.com; Association Partner – NAREDCO – Telangana Real-Estate Developers Association, Builders Association of India – Telangana, and Telangana Realtors Association.