Building Tomorrow’s Roads
ROADS & HIGHWAYS

Building Tomorrow’s Roads

The second RAHSTA Forum 2024, held on August 30 at Hotel Sahara Star, has successfully set the stage for the highly anticipated RAHSTA Expo 2024. This prelude event brought together industry leaders, innovators, and key stakeholders to engage in insightful discussions, setting the tone for what...

The second RAHSTA Forum 2024, held on August 30 at Hotel Sahara Star, has successfully set the stage for the highly anticipated RAHSTA Expo 2024. This prelude event brought together industry leaders, innovators, and key stakeholders to engage in insightful discussions, setting the tone for what promises to be a landmark event in India’s road and highway infrastructure sector.The Forum was inaugurated by Pratap Padode, Founder of the FIRST Construction Council, a pioneering organisation dedicated to advancing India’s infrastructure development. Padode emphasised the Forum’s role as a crucial stepping stone toward the RAHSTA Expo 2024 and highlighted the upcoming RAHSTA Awards.He remarked, “Out of the total Rs 2.78 lakh crore allocated, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been designated around Rs 1.68 lakh crore as part of MoRTH’s capital expenditure plan for 2024-25. The government is focusing on developing access-controlled national highways and ensuring they meet a minimum of two lanes with paved shoulder standards.”Vipin Sondhi, Chairman of the RAHSTA Expo Committee and former MD and CEO of JCB India and Ashok Leyland, added, “The positive momentum in the industry is further reinforced by the 2024 Union Budget, which emphasises rapid infrastructure growth, particularly in roadways. The significant increase in capital expenditure dedicated to improving and expanding road infrastructure signals the government’s commitment to building a world-class network of roads and highways. This investment will not only enhance connectivity across the nation but also spur economic growth, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of citizens.”A key highlight of the Forum was an engaging panel discussion on “BOT Revised Scheme, QCBS Tender System, and Road Projects Being Awarded.” Moderated by Vijay Agrawal, Managing Director at Equirus, the discussion featured a distinguished panel of experts, including RK Pandey, Former Member of NHAI and Member of the RAHSTA Committee; Prof. Satish Pandey, Principal Scientist at CSIR-Central Road Research Institute; Sudhir Hoshing, CEO of IRB Infrastructure Developers; and Zafar Khan, Chief Operating Officer at Highway Concessions One.The panel explored critical issues affecting the road and highway sector, including updates on the BOT scheme, the QCBS tender system, and the latest trends in project awards. Their insights provided attendees with a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of road infrastructure in India.The forum for the RAHSTA Expo was attended by prominent figures from the infrastructure industry, including Himanshu Agarwal, COO of Zydex Industries; Rajan Aiyer, Managing Director of Trimble; Satin Sachdeva, Founder & Secretary General of the Construction Equipment Rental Association; SP Rajan, VP and Head of Plant and Machinery at L&T Construction; Satish Kumar, CEO of Mumbai First; Ashwin Moghe, Senior Vice President at UltraTech, among other exhibitors of the RAHSTA Expo.

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Handling concrete better

Efficiently handling the transportation and placement of concrete is essential to help maintain the quality of construction, meet project timelines by minimising downtimes, and reduce costs – by 5 to 15 per cent, according to Sandeep Jain, Director, Arkade Developers. CW explores what the efficient handling of concrete entails.Select wellFirst, a word on choosing the right equipment, such as a mixer with a capacity aligned to the volume required onsite, from Vaibhav Kulkarni, Concrete Expert. “An overly large mixer will increase the idle time (and cost), while one that ..

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Elevated floors!

Raised access flooring, also called false flooring, is a less common interiors feature than false ceilings, but it has as many uses – if not more.A raised floor is a modular panel installed above the structural floor. The space beneath the raised flooring is typically used to accommodate utilities such as electrical cables, plumbing and HVAC systems. And so, raised flooring is usually associated with buildings with heavy cabling and precise air distribution needs, such as data centres.That said, CW interacted with designers and architects and discovered that false flooring can come in handy ..

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The Variation Challenge

A variation or change in scope clause is defined in construction contracts to take care of situations arising from change in the defined scope of work. Such changes may arise due to factors such as additions or deletions in the scope of work, modifications in the type, grade or specifications of materials, alterations in specifications or drawings, and acts or omissions of other contractors. Further, ineffective planning, inadequate investigations or surveys and requests from the employer or those within the project’s area of influence can contribute to changes in the scope of work. Ext..

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