Covid-19 boosts technology use in road construction

14 Apr 2021 Editorial Team

As the pandemic continues to spur interest in technology among road construction companies, this article delves into the reasons that are encouraging manufacturers to engage in more R&D. Captains of road construction and equipment manufacturers share their insights and analyses:

Sanjay Saxena, Senior VP & Head of Heavy Equipment Business, Sany Heavy Industry India
Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India
Deepak Shetty, CEO and Managing Director, JCB India
Sandeep Mathur, India CE, Brand Leader, Case India
Soumendra K Mohanty, Managing Director, SMC India
Sanjay Londhe, Director & CEO, Projects, Ashoka Buildcon
Blesson Varghese, Managing Director, Astec Inc. (Asia)

Read the article here.

Despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic, 8,169 km of national highways were constructed between April 2020 and January 2021, marking a construction rate of around 28.16 km a day. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India have worked effectively as a catalyst for the sector, spurring huge demand for construction equipment during such a challenging period. As the pandemic continues to spur interest in technology among road construction companies, this article delves into the reasons that are encouraging manufacturers to engage in more R&D. Captains of road construction and equipment manufacturers share their insights and analyses: Sanjay Saxena, Senior VP & Head of Heavy Equipment Business, Sany Heavy Industry India Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India Deepak Shetty, CEO and Managing Director, JCB India Sandeep Mathur, India CE, Brand Leader, Case India Soumendra K Mohanty, Managing Director, SMC India Sanjay Londhe, Director & CEO, Projects, Ashoka Buildcon Blesson Varghese, Managing Director, Astec Inc. (Asia)Read the article here.

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

AI: The New Recruit

From getting ideas to evaluating designs, presenting concepts to clients and tracking projects, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping architects work better and faster.“AI allows architects to spend more time doing what only they can do: think critically, synthesise complexity and design with intent,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects. “Every minute reclaimed from repetitive processes can be invested in creativity, contextual understanding, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – the qualities that define meaningful architecture.”To read the ..

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

Redevelopment 2.0

In 2017, Mumbai identified 160,000 ageing buildings due for structural audit. Close to half of these were in the Western Suburbs. Redeveloping the oldest and structurally weakest of these would help unlock new housing, much needed given the city’s growing population density and constant developed area of 437.7 sq km. At 30,600 people per sq km in 2024, Mumbai’s density was almost thrice that of Gurugram, and 60 per cent higher than Bengaluru’s.Essentially, Mumbai’s realty market has demand. It has capital. It has realty development potential.Fast forward to 2026. Mumbai has 1,094 regis..

Technology

30 Jul 2026

Cost intelligence will become a strategic contributor to project success

As India's construction industry accelerates its digital transformation, integrated platforms, AI and connected data are becoming essential to improving cost certainty, project efficiency and sustainability. Ravi Kumar, Sales Director – India, RIB Software India, shares how digital workflows are reshaping project planning, commercial management and decision-making across the construction value chain.India's construction sector is embracing digital technologies at an unprecedented pace. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts driving this transformation and how is RIB Software enab..