+
Who’s buying earthmoving machines?
ROADS & HIGHWAYS

Who’s buying earthmoving machines?

About 60,000 earthmoving units were sold in 2018, according to Nischal Mehrotra, Director, Sales & Marketing, LiuGong India. “The construction of highways was a key driver of this growth.”
 
“Road construction was the key driver of the construction equipment market in India in 2017 and 2018,” says Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice-President and Head, Volvo CE India, who sees this trend continuing in the future.

“Hamm soil compactors have been driving strong demand in the past three to four years,” says Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India. “We expect this momentum to continue, considering the roads projects under execution, projects currently being bid for and the Bharatmala project in future. Opportunities in the roads sector should be very good in coming years provided we have a stable government after the national election.”

“Allocating the budget to build 35,000 km of road under Phase 1 of the Bharatmala project along with allocations for urban rail and airport expansion projects will boost demand for earthmoving equipment,” says Krishnan.

“National highways, state highways and dedicated freight corridors are the major projects in the pipeline,” says Mehrotra, citing the Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, Delhi Nagpur Expressway, Delhi decongestion plan and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor as examples.
 
“Many mega projects have been recently awarded and some six and eight-laning projects are coming up in next few months, like the Poorvanchal Expressway, Samridhi Expressway, Ganga Expressway and Delhi-Vadodara Expressway,” observes Ashim Paul, Plant & Machinery Head, Adani Transport. He believes such projects will spur demand for earthmoving equipment in the next few years.

“Investments in infrastructure, in particular roads and highways, and regular bidding for projects, real-estate development and growth in mining are crucial drivers for earthmoving equipment,” says Ajay Aneja, Brand Leader, CASE India.

Mining as a demand driver
Over the course of the next three to five years, Krishnan expects the mining industry to grow at a CAGR of between 5 and 7 per cent. In this sector, he sees opportunities for growth in coal because the Government is opening coal mining to private companies. “Even though it’s still in the early stages, these projects will increase production capacity,” he says. 

Turning to iron mining, Krishnan adds, “Over the past few years, production has been lower but we expect the Government to address legal bottlenecks, which should lead to higher production volumes in India.”

Palagiri agrees that steady growth in the coal sector and some signs of revival in the iron ore segment will also drive demand.

Krishnan is also expecting further development in the irrigation segment and increased demand to upgrade and expand sea ports.

- CHARU BAHRI

About 60,000 earthmoving units were sold in 2018, according to Nischal Mehrotra, Director, Sales & Marketing, LiuGong India. “The construction of highways was a key driver of this growth.” “Road construction was the key driver of the construction equipment market in India in 2017 and 2018,” says Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice-President and Head, Volvo CE India, who sees this trend continuing in the future.“Hamm soil compactors have been driving strong demand in the past three to four years,” says Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India. “We expect this momentum to continue, considering the roads projects under execution, projects currently being bid for and the Bharatmala project in future. Opportunities in the roads sector should be very good in coming years provided we have a stable government after the national election.”“Allocating the budget to build 35,000 km of road under Phase 1 of the Bharatmala project along with allocations for urban rail and airport expansion projects will boost demand for earthmoving equipment,” says Krishnan.“National highways, state highways and dedicated freight corridors are the major projects in the pipeline,” says Mehrotra, citing the Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, Delhi Nagpur Expressway, Delhi decongestion plan and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor as examples. “Many mega projects have been recently awarded and some six and eight-laning projects are coming up in next few months, like the Poorvanchal Expressway, Samridhi Expressway, Ganga Expressway and Delhi-Vadodara Expressway,” observes Ashim Paul, Plant & Machinery Head, Adani Transport. He believes such projects will spur demand for earthmoving equipment in the next few years.“Investments in infrastructure, in particular roads and highways, and regular bidding for projects, real-estate development and growth in mining are crucial drivers for earthmoving equipment,” says Ajay Aneja, Brand Leader, CASE India.Mining as a demand driverOver the course of the next three to five years, Krishnan expects the mining industry to grow at a CAGR of between 5 and 7 per cent. In this sector, he sees opportunities for growth in coal because the Government is opening coal mining to private companies. “Even though it’s still in the early stages, these projects will increase production capacity,” he says. Turning to iron mining, Krishnan adds, “Over the past few years, production has been lower but we expect the Government to address legal bottlenecks, which should lead to higher production volumes in India.”Palagiri agrees that steady growth in the coal sector and some signs of revival in the iron ore segment will also drive demand.Krishnan is also expecting further development in the irrigation segment and increased demand to upgrade and expand sea ports.- CHARU BAHRI

Next Story
Real Estate

Tokenisation is definitely the future of real-estate projects in India

Nisus Finance is carving a distinctive space in India’s real-estate funding ecosystem through a sharp mix of structured finance, asset management and transaction advisory. In an exclusive conversation with CW, Amit Goenka, Chairman and Founder, shares insights into the company’s unique approach to urban infrastructure finance. He discusses how Nisus Finance is not only expanding within India but also venturing into emerging markets, offering tailor-made solutions for urban development projects.How would you define your core business model and what differentiates you in this space..

Next Story
Equipment

We're building India's top platform for construction equipment rental

Janardhan Reddy grew up in a construction environment in Tumkur, Karnataka, where his father, a Class 1 PWD contractor, managed owned and rented equipment. This early exposure gave him deep insights into the sector. Today, he leads AUEQI (pronounced Aaki), short for ‘An Aura of Equipment’ – a tech-driven platform simplifying rentals and boosting productivity. Recognised as an innovator by the Karnataka government, he is supported by the Rajiv Gandhi Entrepreneurship Programme and is a final-round applicant for Elevate 2024. In this conversation with CW, he shares how AUEQI is bridging cr..

Next Story
Equipment

India is shifting from buying to leasing forklifts

- Rushabh Vora, Co-Founder and Managing Director, SILA SILA, India’s leading real-estate platform, has forayed into electric material handling equipment (MHE) rental solutions through a strategic partnership with Nilkamal, marking its expansion into the manufacturing and warehousing sectors. With over 15 years of operational expertise, a workforce of 30,000+, including 1,000+ trained equipment operators and operations spanning 125+ cities, SILA is well-positioned to transform how Indian businesses approach logistics and equipment management. Founded in 2010 by brothers Rushabh and Sahil..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?