Infrastructure Development
ROADS & HIGHWAYS

Infrastructure Development

PPPs accelerate road growth “Over the past decade, India’s road sector has experienced a significant transformation, fuelled by strong government backing and a surge in private-sector investment,” according to Anshumali Srivastava, Chief General Manager – Tech, NHAI. Speakin...

PPPs accelerate road growth “Over the past decade, India’s road sector has experienced a significant transformation, fuelled by strong government backing and a surge in private-sector investment,” according to Anshumali Srivastava, Chief General Manager – Tech, NHAI. Speaking about evolution of the sector since 2014, Srivastava highlighted how the shift from solely budgetary support to PPP models has been a gamechanger. Despite increased government spending, he said the sector still has an appetite for further investment, with private players stepping in to fill the gap. The reason for road accidents is faster roads “While India’s road infrastructure has significantly improved with high-quality construction and advanced geometric designs, there has been an unintended rise in accidents,” said Dr Tom V Mathew, Professor and Head of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay. He emphasised that the new roads offer smoother driving conditions and higher speeds. But this increase in speed has led to a surge in accidents, not due to construction or design flaws but because drivers are unused to improved infrastructure. “The issue lies in driving behaviour and habits, which haven’t adapted to higher speeds enabled by new roads.” Leveraging technology for ambitious targets “As India’s infrastructure projects grow more ambitious, meeting tight construction deadlines has become increasingly critical,” said Nirmalaya Chatterjee, Country Vice President (Indian Subcontinent) Nemetschek Group. “We cannot double our workforce or contractors to match these targets. The solution is how effectively we can leverage technology to enhance efficiency and productivity,” he added, highlighting the vital role of digital tools in meeting India’s infrastructure demands. Cement targets net zero, doubling production “India’s cement and concrete production is set to double or even triple by 2070,” Kaustubh Phadke, India Head, Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA), said, emphasising the industry’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by that same year. “As India’s demand for construction materials continues to surge, GCCA is aligning with the country’s ambitious sustainability goals.” He added, “We are striving to reach net-zero emissions in concrete production by 2050, while also supporting India’s broader net-zero target by 2070 and the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.” “We are here as builders to introduce all the technologies given by all the members of the dais,” said Aniruddha Nakhawa, Structural Consultants and Project Engineers, Builders Association of India (BAI). “One of our builders from Gujarat has set a world record for construction of a 100-km road in 100 hours.” The way ahead The discussion emphasised how these innovations are driving smarter, more sustainable road development across India, aligning with the country’s broader ambitions for economic growth and infrastructure modernisation.

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Equipment

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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Real Estate

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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Infrastructure Urban

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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