Change it to BIM methodology and applications
India’s construction industry will continue to grow into the next decade
Prospects bright for Indian construction industry and the current situation of BIM
According the company’s latest report on the Indian building market, the sector will grow at a CAGR of 4.16% from now until 2021. This is an increase over market growth seen in the previous report period, 2012-2016, where the Indian construction industry expanded by 3.95%.
India is one of the world’s most vibrant markets for building and interiors at the moment. Huge sums are being poured into a comprehensive range of construction projects, from major infrastructure upgrades, sweeping residential housing programmes and wholesale city building.
Residential construction is definitely a market to watch in India right now. India is facing a huge housing backlog - some estimates claim as many as 30 million families need homes To try and tackle the ever-expanding need for affordable housing, the government is planning on building 20 million low cost units by 2022.
Elsewhere, the spotlight falls on infrastructure with a whopping $349.9 billion allocated to essential upgrades in the 2017 budget - not least in transportation. Rapid urbanisation is necessitating the construction of modern, convenient transport links to and from major population centres.
This means India is funelling cash into areas such as road building. This sub-sector alone is expected to see $13 billion of investment over the coming years. As much as 7,000 km of new roads are planned for construction, linking the East and West of India.
In 2015, the government launched the Smart City Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. Under the Smart City Mission, the government plans to develop the infrastructure of 100 selected cities with an investment $7.2 billion, whereas under the AMRUT scheme it plans to spend $7.4 billion to develop 500 cities by 2022.
In short, it’s a good time to get into construction in India. It’s been on the international radar for some time now, with many foreign companies making some big wins on the market. Malaysian and Indian companies inked deals worth $36 billion in early April 2017, for example, with Malaysian firms looking to get a slice of India’s quickly growing infrastructure pie.
Meanwhile, the very special methodology of BIM modeling and applications, is changing how efficiently projects can be planned. Over the last 10 years, BIM modeling and applications have revolutionized the acrhitecture, engineering and construction industry, a big attraction being its ability to perform collaborative activities. The UK and the US have seen an impressive rollout BIM, but India is still in the early stages of adopting widespread use of BIM modeling and applications.
The Current Situation for India’s Construction Industry and BIM
The AEC industry in India is actually implementing BIM modeling and applications, but this has been slow and gradual. There is therefore is a lot of scope for BIM usage to take off quickly. Until now though, India has generally been a bit hesitant when it comes to adopting new technologies and they have a distinct shortage of BIM experts and expertise. They have also been slow to adopt BIM modeling and applications because of the heavy initial cost and maybe because of slow initiative and involvement from government. However, the AEC industry in India is now just a step a short step away from enjoying the immense benefits that BIM implementation can bring.
India is quickly realizing that BIM modeling is crucial for engineers, architects, designers and builders to all be on the same page at the time of design and development of energy-conscious buildings.
BIM is expected to change the architecture, engineering and construction industry in India. The country’s existing infrastructure can currently provide for the needs of approximately 60% of India’s population and the quality of the existing infrastructure is neither efficient nor environmentally optimal, nor can it withstand natural disasters. This means there is now urgent demand for better quality infrastructure facilities in near future and BIM modeling and applications are likely to emerge as one of the most revolutionary advancements to modernize and transform the Indian construction sector.
