India’s earthmoving and construction equipment (ECE) industry is looking forward to strong and consistent growth over the next 10-20 years as the country’s infrastructure development plans come to fruition. This was highlighted at the annual general meeting of the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) in New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, R. K. Gupta, Managing Director, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp of India Ltd. (DFCCIL), said the scope for construction equipment and allied industries was enormous in the unique, ambitious railway project.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor project, being implemented by the Indian Railways through DFCCIL aims to connect the important freight lanes between Delhi and Mumbai in the west and Ludhiana and Dankuni in the east. Mr Gupta revealed that over 90 per cent of the land acquisition as also environmental clearances had already been completed. “The remaining portions are in difficult places or require alignment changes. We should be able to complete this in six months,” Gupta said.
The DFCCIL is also going ahead with its concept of setting up multimodal logistics parks at six to seven strategic locations. Mr Gupta outlined the mechanisation approach of the project to ensure quality, timely delivery and reduction in costs. The commissioning of the first phase has already begun and that of the entire project likely to be completed by 2017.
Ajay Shankar, Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, said the industry needed to think big and look ahead. In this regard, a key issue would be availability of skilled manpower. He advised speedy implementation of ICEMA’s efforts to institute a Sector Skill Council for the construction equipment industry. This was imperative, he said, both for increased productivity and better safety records.