Rohit Punjabi, Asst. Director, Liugong India, shares what will enable Liugong to meet the demand for road building equipment
Opportunity in road building equipment businessIn a move that would expedite the award of road projects on engineering procurement contract (EPC) mode, the finance ministry has now authorised the road transport ministry to clear EPC projects worth ` 500 crore. Indian road construction equipment market has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, mainly owing to accelerated road development programmes undertaken by central and state governments. NHAI has an ambitious plan of building 20 km of national highways daily in coming years. To meet this target, superior project execution capabilities will be needed which will result in greater demand for sophisticated road construction equipment. Road construction equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.0 per cent over the next 5 years.
Constructing 20 kms of highway a dayThe government’s ambitious target of building 20 km of highway a day is not sustainable due to delays in environment clearance, issues of land acquisition, and poor performance of contractors. There is no point in rushing up with projects where companies don’t have environment clearance and land acquisition. The target can be achieved only if the government  awards 7,000 km of projects every year for the next 3 years starting 2014.
Emerging demand trendAs the pace of projects delivery and their execution picks up, demand for road construction equipment will grow, and Liugong is fully geared up to cater to the emerging demand trend. Liugong is already supplying motorgrader to Indian market which is manufactured in an India plant. The company has also started the local production of its compactors at its Pithampur plant in Indore. This will enable Liugong to meet the demand for road building equipment.
Developments in materials and maintenance technologiesIn the last couple of decades, many new developments have taken place in materials and maintenance technologies. Some of the most modern technological options are the use of modified bitumen binders, multigrade bitumen, and ready-to-use patching mixes for pothole repairs. The use of the new technologies will be able to provide better serviceability for longer periods. The new technologies should be given priority in field trials, and the performance should be evaluated over a period of time to enable formulation of guidelines and practice codes for emergency.