When Geopolitics Hits the Jobsite

27 May 2026 CW Team

India’s road construction

sector is facing pressure from two sides. On one side is the West Asia crisis, which has pushed up the cost of oil-linked inputs such as bitumen, diesel and logistics.

On the other is the persistent problem of negative bidding, where contractors are quoting sharply below project estimates to secure work.

Together, these forces are creating a serious risk for project viability, execution quality and contractor survival.

“What this has done is create a 360° attack,” said Pratap Padode, Founder, First Construction Council, speaking at the RAHSTA Roundtable. “Materials, equipment, labour, capital… everything is being affected simultaneously. Our industry already works on very thin margins and this has added another layer of pressure.”

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Technology

27 May 2026

Humans are using AI in our company – not the other way around

Founded in 2023, AirBrick Infra is positioning itself at the intersection of commercial interiors and technology. Sanjeev Bhandari, Founder & CEO, speaks to CW about AI-led design, integrated execution, sustainability and why the company remains firmly bootstrapped.What market gaps did you identify that prompted the launch of AirBrick Infra?My background spans over 15 years across PepsiCo and later Livspace, where I led India and Singapore operations. During that journey, I realised construction and commercial interiors continued to function through highly manual and repetitive processes d..

3-D Concrete Printing

From mass customisation to automation, 3-D concrete printing is redefining how India builds.India is witnessing rapid economic growth and the trend is expected to continue despite the challenging times. In the infrastructure space, the investment targets are impressive. The Union Budget 2026-27 pegged the public capital expenditure in the infrastructure sector at `12.2 lakh crore ($ 150 billion). In the real-estate space, the World Bank report, Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India, prepared in close collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, states that with Indi..

Calculating Damages

In construction disputes, claims for damages arising out of delay and prolongation often involve components such as head-office overheads, loss of profit and other indirect costs that are inherently difficult to quantify with precision. In such circumstances, tribunals and courts have, over time, accepted formula-based approaches such as the Hudson, Emden and Eichleay methods as tools to estimate such losses. To read the full article Click Here ..