An infrastructure project can attain speed if people who are displaced become its direct beneficiaries, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) Managing Director A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish has said.
Referring to the new Land Acquisition Act, he said its provisions often caused delay in acquisition. “This can be largely overcome if evictees are provided with livelihoods. Attention must also be given to adopting modern technology to save cost and time and to ensure quality,” Mr. Hanish said. He was speaking on ‘Infrastructure opportunities in Kerala’ during a road show organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) ahead of Excon 2017, South Asia’s largest trade fair on construction equipment to be held in Bengaluru from December 12 to 16.
On the yearning for world-class public commute modes like the metro-rail system, he said all that was possible, provided governments and private players had the will to complete projects as envisaged. He cited KSTP as an infrastructure initiative that had led to the introduction of modern road construction equipment like sensor pavers in the State.
He said several projects suffered delay because of too much dependence on government funds. “This calls for PPP models to raise funds,” Mr. Hanish said, adding that a slew of infrastructure projects lined up would benefit Kerala if technocrats employed in the Middle East returned to the State.
More than 1,000 exhibitors are expected to participate in Excon 2017. In his address, V.G. Sakthi Kumar, one of the organisers of Excon 2017, said India’s construction equipment industry would grow to $5 billion by 2020 in value terms. “There is increasing reliance on mechanisation and skilled labour to complete projects in a time-bound and cost-effective manner. The Centre’s emphasis on developing road corridors and modernising the railway system are welcome,” he added.
Giving a special address, M.V. Antony, former chairman of Builders’ Association of India, said low productivity owing to inadequate skills and mechanisation was a bane of Indian projects.
The fair gains relevance in the context of the Bharatmala project, which is expected to give a fillip to the construction equipment industry. Under the project, a total of around 34,800-km road will be built by 2022 at an investment of over ₹5.35 lakh crore.
