India has emerged as the world’s second-largest single-country contributor to global construction growth between 2020 and 2030, according to Foundamental’s latest State of the Project Economy 2026 report.

The Berlin-based venture capital firm, which focuses on architecture, engineering and construction technology, said India accounts for 14.1% of global construction growth by volume during the period. China leads with 26.1%, while the United States follows India at 11.1%.

According to the report, India and China together account for nearly 40% of global construction growth. Global capital expenditure is also becoming increasingly concentrated across five major economies: India, China, the United States, Germany and France.

Global construction spending reached US$15.97 trillion in 2024 and is projected to rise to US$19.86 trillion by 2028, reflecting a CAGR of 5.6%. Infrastructure remains the fastest-growing major construction segment globally, expanding at a CAGR of 5.1% between 2020 and 2025.

India’s infrastructure market is expected to grow at around 8% annually through the end of the decade, driven by highways, railways, airports, ports, industrial corridors, urban transit, logistics networks and energy infrastructure.

Foundamental said India’s growing role reflects its infrastructure agenda, rapid urbanisation, manufacturing-led growth and rising investment in transport, logistics and energy networks. The report also noted that India’s expansion is increasingly being driven by discrete, time-bound projects across infrastructure, energy, real estate and manufacturing.

The report identifies five key forces reshaping the global project economy: re-industrialisation, data centre construction, energy infrastructure, civil infrastructure and defence infrastructure.

Data centre construction is expected to double by 2030 compared with 2018 levels, supported by artificial intelligence and cloud computing demand. Foundamental estimates that data centre infrastructure could add 10-15% to the global construction market by 2030.

For India, the report expects AI adoption, digital public infrastructure, cloud expansion, financial-services digitisation and data-localisation requirements to accelerate data centre investment. This is likely to create further demand across construction, engineering and project management.

Energy infrastructure is also expected to witness significant growth as data centres, electrification and renewable energy expansion increase demand for power generation, transmission, grid modernisation, battery storage and green-hydrogen infrastructure.

The report concludes that India is positioned to benefit from multiple long-term trends, including infrastructure expansion, industrial development, digital transformation, urbanisation and the energy transition, making it one of the most influential contributors to global construction growth through 2030 and beyond.