Photo: Anthony Azavedo
A new reform-minded government in New Delhi, a visible uptrend in the economy, the proposed investment of over $1 trillion in infrastructure development, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hard selling of India to foreign investors and governments is expected to have a positive impact on the third edition of the Bauma Conexpo Show — bC India.
The international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles will be held in Greater Noida, near Delhi, from December 15 to 18. The previous two events in 2011 and 2013 were held in Mumbai.
“Looking at the current five-year plan and the huge planned infrastructure investment, I am convinced that (bC India) will attract many international clients. Also, with the new government at the Centre and its focus on infrastructure development, trade shows like bC India will be crucial,” Igor Palka, Chief Executive Officer, bC India Expo Pvt. Ltd, told Projectmonitor.
In spite of the recent economic slowdown, India continued to be a very dynamic market for the global construction equipment industry, Messe München International, organisers of the trade show, felt. In 2016, MMI expects around 80,000 units to be sold in India and the bC India expo is meant to lay the groundwork for business opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers of all kinds of construction equipment.
Various forecasts suggest that the Indian construction and mining equipment market is in for good times in coming years. One survey indicates that the sector will grow at a CAGR of 18.52 per cent over the period 2012-2016 while another expects it to grow at a CAGR of 9.6 per cent to 166,876 units in FY2018.
Fuelling the growth will be a large number of new and ongoing projects in the government sector like national highway development, metro rail and monorail, integrated transport systems, dedicated industrial and freight corridors, smart cities, and port and airport expansion, among others. The $90-billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor alone envisages the development of eight mega industrial cities of about 200-500 sq.km each, a high-speed freight line, ports, airports, power and water projects. It opens up all kinds of opportunities for construction equipment manufacturers.
“Though the growth rate has stabilised recently, the initiative proposed by the new government will certainly rejuvenate the Indian economy to greater heights,” Sushanta Kumar Basu, President, Builders’ Association of India, said.
In terms of the demand for construction equipment, backhoe loaders, bulldozers and mobile cranes are likely to give way to crawler-excavators whose market share is expected to increase in coming years.
The mood among foreign investors is decidedly upbeat. As Johann Sailer, Chairman, Association for Construction Equipment and Building Material Machines in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), noted: “This is the first time since 1991 that a party has won an absolute majority, so the prospects for stability are quite promising. For now, that is having a positive effect on construction-equipment and building-machine manufacturers who do business in India. We are hoping that India will recover now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered business friendly, and expectations are high.”
Given these positive developments and the shift to a much bigger venue, bC India 2014 is expected to do far better than its previous two editions in 2013 and 2011, especially in terms of more exhibitors and visitor footfalls and the potential for lucrative deals between buyers and sellers of construction equipment.
