When L&T increases its turnover by 10 per cent, it adds another construction company equivalent to the top five in the country. So, when L&T added Rs.90 billion odd to its topline during 2022-23, it virtually added turnover equal to more than the turnover of GR Infraprojects or PNC Infratech. Its profits after tax of Rs.78.49 billion are greater than the combined net profit of the next 18 companies in rank.In 2002, L&T under its then Deputy Managing Director Dr AR Ramakrishna resolved to take international revenues to Rs.10 billion in fiscal 2002. In FY 2023, L&T had reached Rs.686.87 billion; that’s roughly 60 times in 20 years.Today, construction is booming, be it in India or the Middle East. The business is booming, and costs have shot up, whether it's material or labour. Competition has increased, but there is still growth. The Indian government is spending its historically highest, and a high oil price has facilitated a large budget for infrastructure and real estate in the Middle East. Planning, execution, financial management, human resources, bidding strategies, technologies, and the best utilization of resources are all key to survival and growth.The centre would have spent nearly Rs.6 trillion of its Rs.10 trillion capex budget set for this fiscal, already up to September. The Centre has raised the capex target by 36 per cent year-on-year to Rs.10 trillion (including Rs.1.3 trillion capex loans to states) for FY24 from Rs.7.36 trillion (including Rs.81,200 crore to states) actual spending in FY23. The increase in capex could be attributed to the Centre’s directive to all ministries to accelerate capital expenditure in H1FY24 to avoid disruptions later as half a dozen states are going to assembly elections by 2023-end, including Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. To facilitate this, it has also exempted the ministries from various cash control norms.The last nine years under the current regime have brought back the focus on infrastructure, which had slipped during the ‘policy paralysis’ period in the second term of UPA 2.Roads: The capital expenditure in the sector has increased by almost 5 times from Rs.512.04 billion in 2013-14 to Rs.2.41 trillion in 2022-23. The total length of National Highways has increased by 59 per cent from 91,287 km in 2013-14 to 1,45,240 km in March 2023. The pace of highway construction, which was 11.6 km/day during 2013-14, has increased to about 28.3 km/day in 2022-23.Rural Roads: A total of 7,42,398 km road length was constructed at the rate of 91 km per day, as of July 2023, by incurring an expenditure of Rs.3.06 trillion, as compared to 3,81,393 km at the rate of 80 km per day as of March 2014 with an expenditure of Rs.1.11 trillion.Railways: Indigenously developed semi high-speed, Vande Bharat trains with acceleration of 100 km/h in 52 seconds were introduced in early 2019. So far, 25 train sets have been started covering all the States having electrified tracks across India. Further, 150 services are targeted to be rolled out in the current year. More than 800 trains are planned by 2030. Railways’ capital expenditure has increased from Rs.539.89 billion in 2013-14 to `2.60 trillion in 2023-24, which is the highest ever.Station re-development: Railway stations are being developed as city centres connecting both sides of the city. Now, 1309 stations have been further identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, and works on more than 900 stations have started.High-Speed Rail: The first high-speed track in India for a length of 508 km between Mumbai- Ahmedabad was sanctioned in 2015. Civil works in the Gujarat portion are nearing completion. Land acquisition in Maharashtra is completed, and civil works have started. The government has given “in-principle” approval for pre-investment activity for the following two Semi High-Speed Rail (SHSR) Projects: - (i) Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod Semi High-Speed Rail (SilverLine) Project on Standard Gauge; and (ii) Pune-Nasik Semi High-Speed Rail Project on Broad Gauge Line.Port Capacity: Major port cargo handling capacity more than doubled from ~8,710 lakh tonnes to more than 16,100 lakh tonnes per annum. Private investment in the sector also more than doubled from Rs.160 billion to more than Rs.400 billion with 2,700 lakh tonnes capacity addition by private investment.Inland Waterways: Cargo handled by Inland Waterways increased by more than 17 times from 69 lakh tonnes to more than 1,260 lakh tonnes per annum.Coastal Shipping: Cargo handled by Coastal Shipping nearly doubled from 870 lakh tonnes to more than 1,500 lakh tonnes per annum during the last nine years.Waterways: The number of National Waterways operationalized increased by 7 times from just 3 to 24; 111 National Waterways have been identified for development.Aviation: The number of operational airports doubled from 74 in 2014 to 148 in 2023. Under UDAN, 479 routes have been operationalized so far. 'In-Principle' approval for setting up 21 Greenfield Airports has been accorded. Out of these, 11 Greenfield airports have been operationalized. First-stage clearance has been granted for the construction of three Greenfield airports, namely Alwar in Rajasthan, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.Real Estate: The size of the Indian real estate sector is estimated to jump more than 12-fold to $5.8 trillion by 2047 from $477 billion last year and will contribute over 15 per cent to the total economic output of the country, according to the Naredco-Knight Frank report. Cushman & Wakefield projects that India is expected to urbanize at a rate of around 36 per cent this year and 50 per cent by 2050, and therefore predicts that the focus will shift to tier-2 towns such as Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam that have the advantages and development potential to be the next promising destination for the real estate sector.Construction Equipment: Construction equipment (CE) sales rose 18 percent year-on-year to 27,244 units during Q1 FY24 aided by the government’s thrust on infrastructure spending.One of the key reasons for higher sales of earthmoving, road, and material handling equipment is due to the government’s plan to complete projects on time ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections scheduled in 2024. Besides, the government’s spending of `6 trillion by September 2023 will further boost sales in Q2 and Q3 FY24. The total equipment numbers sold increased to 27,244 (against 23,037 in Q1 FY23), of which 24,806 were sold domestically while 2,438 were exported, the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) said. The industry has recorded an excellent 26 percent growth over the previous year with sales crossing the one lakh unit mark in FY2022-23.Word of caution: Given the frenetic pace that the economy is traversing despite global challenges and a war persisting in Europe, it just seems unlikely that there can be any obstacle that can derail the economic engine. However, the forthcoming general elections are a time when the pilots flying this economic machine take their eyes off the dashboard. The quarter ending September 2023 is already showing signs of the effect of this distraction.In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year, Rs.1.2 trillion worth of projects were announced by companies during the July-September period, compared to Rs.6.6 trillion in the preceding quarter. This marked a decline of 82 per cent since the June quarter, and 77 per cent since the same quarter a year ago.As the 2024 polls draw closer, new launches in the next two quarters are likely to dwindle. Just before the 2019 elections, around ₹9.9 trillion worth of projects were announced between April and September 2018, which dropped to Rs.9.2 trillion in the two following quarters. Similarly, in the run-up to the 2014 polls, the value of project announcements dropped 15 per cent in the second half of the 2013-14 compared to the first six months, as per CMIE data. The pace of project completions also fell sharply. The worth of projects that got completed in the September-ended quarter was lower by 72.3 per cent sequentially after a spurt in the preceding quarter. Projects worth Rs.2.2 trillion were completed during the last three months against Rs.7.9 trillion in the June-ended quarter. This was the first sequential decline in the value of projects being completed in the last four quarters.The above will affect our economic performance in 2024-25 as, once again, there would be the need to kickstart sputtering engines. However, the FDI inflow is likely to spurt ahead with the formation of the new government and the return of stability and economic focus. Input costs have normalized, and logistical challenges have eased. We have mega projects on the anvil, and we need to institute global best practices for the next phase of growth. If Turkey can have 40 companies as part of ENR’s international contractors list, why do we have just a handful? We must target 25 companies to be on the ENR list in the next three years.This year at the 21st Construction World Global Awards, we are honouring and recognizing companies and personalities as follows: Top Challengers Most Admired Brands Fastest Growing Construction Companies Construction World Persons of the Year (Public & Private Sector) ENR list of top international contractors & design firms We have hit the 100 medals mark at the Asian Games. We have landed on the moon and now have our eyes towards the sun. Our stars are in alignment for becoming a superpower. Stay invested as India is the destination for growth.