Massive road building targets in shorter time has necessitated use of Technology
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Road building equipment manufacturers say they are ready to take up the challenge of executing India’s huge road building projects, says Syed Ameen Kader
India is taking up massive road building exercise throughout the country. The sector has received good momentum and it has opened up new opportunities for equipment manufacturers.
With lots of catching up to be done, India is putting a much needed thrust on building good quality roads in much quicker time space. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has intensified its award activity from just 850 km during FY2009 to 6,500 km during last one year since end-FY2009. The government has ambitious plan of building 20 km of national highways a day. It has taken up the task of construction and improvement of about 54,000 kms of national highways under the NHDP (National Highways Development Project), spending about US$80 billion in the next four years. To achieve that target, India not only needs quicker mechanism and award process but also advanced technology which can expedite the project execution. Thanks to a strong presence of international players through local tie-ups, India today has got access to high-end technology. With the emergence of BOT projects, contractors are now emphasising on quality of roads as they are the one who would be responsible for maintenance.
Some of the key players such as L&T-Case; JCB, Caterpillar, Greaves Cotton, Escorts, Liugong, Volvo, Telcon and Proman besides others are very active in India. They say technology is not an issue for India.
“Indian companies already use the latest technology for the road projects in NHAI. Hot Mix Plants, Pavers, Vibratory Compactors are all used extensively in India. The machines used by the Indian companies will compare with the best in the world,” says Jaikumar Kamath D, Head – Sales Development, L&T-CASE, Powai.
His company has invested Rs400 million in setting up a new assembly line at Pithampur where Loader Backhoes and Compactors are assembled. “All our products are powder coated to offer a superior and durable finish. We have on offer a 3 Tonne Tandem Compactor the L&T-CASE 450 DX which was designed and developed entirely by L&T-CASE. This machine has features which compare with the best in the world,” he adds.
Escorts Construction Equipment Limited (ECEL) is another key player in the Indian market with wide range of product offerings such as Tandem Vibratory Roller and Vibratory Soil Compactors besides cranes and material handling equipments. The company has a highly ambitious plan for India. It launched 12 T Soil Vibratory Roller and 3 T Mini Tandem Vibratory Roller during the EXCON in 2005. The company also has a marketing tie-up with Singapore Technology Kinetics (STK) to market ‘LeeBoy’ brand of equipment for road construction and maintenance purpose which includes motor graders, hydrostatic pavers and pothole patchers.
The pioneer of recycling technology, Wirtgen India’s CEO and MD Ramesh Palagiri says there is no shortcoming in regards to availability of technology but one needs to adopt that technology and use it for projects. “Now with the volume of road jobs going up, I think, it is the right time to introduce new technology. We have already been successful in introducing some technology like cold milling, and in the future, it will be the recycling machine,” he adds.
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