• AAV Ranga Raju, MD, NCC Ltd, honoured with the prestigious Construction World Person of the Year (Private Sector) award.
• Dimitrov Krishnan, MD, Volvo Construction Equipment India, was recognised as the “Equipment India Person of the Year 2023”.
The 9th Edition of India Construction Festival (2023) – comprising 13th India Roads Conference, 11th Equipment India Awards and 21st Construction World Global Awards – received a big thumbs up from more than 200 industry leaders from the leading construction and infrastructure companies who celebrated the success of the industry and recognised its contribution to the nation building.
Held recently at Shangri La Hotel in New Delhi and hosted by infrastructure think-tank FIRST Construction Council in partnership with Construction World and Equipment India magazines, India Construction Festival 2023 honoured over 70 companies in the infrastructure and construction equipment sectors with awards under various categories. While AAV Ranga Raju, Managing Director, NCC Ltd, was honoured with the prestigious Construction World Person of the Year (Private Sector) award, Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director, Volvo Construction Equipment India, was recognised as the “Equipment India Person of the Year 2023” for their remarkable achievements during 2022-23.
Setting context for ICF 2023, Pratap Padode, Founder and President, FIRST Construction Council, said, “Government infrastructure investments as measured by central government capex have gone up 8 times over FY14 to FY24. In FY24 it is expected to be 4.9 per cent of GDP compared with 1.7 per cent of GDP in FY14. Over the same time period, road capex has gone up 7.5 times and railways capex is up by 4.5 times. The centre would have spent nearly Rs 6 trillion of its Rs 10 trillion capex budget set for this fiscal, already up to September.”
The awards were given at a glittering ceremony which witnessed participation of head honchos of the construction industry such as Lieutenant General Arvind Walia, Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army; Suresh Goyal, MD & CEO, National Highways Infra Investment Managers (NHAI InvIT); MV Satish, Sr Executive VP & Director, Larsen & Toubro (L&T); Dr Manoranjan Parida, Director, CSIR-CRRI (Central Road Research Institute); Ajay Kumar Mishra, President, Dilip Buildcon; Hardik Agrawal, Director, Dineshchandra Agrawal Infra; Dr Nalin Gupta, MD, J Kumar Infraprojects; TR Rao, Director (Infra), PNC Infratech; Vikas Agarwal, Director, GR Infraprojects Ltd; Yancharla Rathnakara Nagaraja, MD, Ramky Infrastructure; VG Sakthikumar, Chairman & Managing Director, Schwing Stetter; Sandeep Singh, MD, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery; Ashish Kataria, Director, Ashoka Buildcon; Sunil Khurana, Chief Operating Officer, JCB; Katsuya Fukasaku, MD, Nippon Koei India; and Ajay Sood, Director, Timken India, among others.
Laying growth roadmap: India Roads Conference 2023
The 13th India Roads Conference (IRC) – with the theme of “Road Construction Business: Establishing safe, sustainable, inclusive and intelligent road network in India” – brought together policymakers, industry leaders and experts under one roof to discuss innovative technologies, sustainable practices, and funding opportunities that will revolutionise the road construction landscape in India.
Pratap Padode, Founder and President, FIRST Construction Council, stated, “The capital expenditure on the road sector has increased by almost 5 times from Rs 512.04 billion in 2013-14 to Rs 2.41 trillion in 2022-23. The total length of National Highways has increased by 59 per cent from 91,287 km in 2013-14 to 145,240 km in March 2023. This year, the government has set a target to build 13,800 km of highways, which requires adequate funds and the right technologies. India Roads Conference will discuss sustainable solutions to build strong roads for robust economic growth.”
Added V.K. Dewangan, Chairman & MD, REC, “After becoming a Maharatna company in 2022, the Ministry of Power allowed us to diversify into non-power infrastructure and logistics wherein we’ve been allowed to diversify upto one-third of our loan book into non-power sectors. In the current fiscal year, we are targeting sanctions of about Rs. 1-1.25 lakh crore in these new areas including roads, highways, airports, and metropolitan railway projects among others. We are committed to nation-building and funding India’s growth story.”
Attendees gained valuable insights from dynamic panel discussions, insightful keynotes, and cutting-edge innovation showcases. IRC 2023 helped participants understand the industry trends and forge valuable partnerships, and, thus, made a big contribution in building safer, greener, and more efficient road networks.
CW Global Awards presented to 46 construction industry leaders
The 21st Construction World Global Awards brought together top construction industry leaders, experts and policymakers in Delhi. CW Global Awards were presented to 46 companies such as Larsen and Toubro (L&T), NCC, PNC Infratech, J Kumar Infraprojects, Tata Projects, HG Infra Engineering, PSP Projects, APCO Infratech and SOBHA, among others, in different categories. The CW Global Awards and ENR Awards provided a platform to recognise and celebrate the innovation, dedication and remarkable achievements of individuals and companies in the construction industry, setting the bar high for future endeavours.
AAV Ranga Raju, Managing Director, NCC, was honoured as the “Person of the Year – Private Sector”, for his exemplary leadership and his contribution which have not only propelled his organisation but have also had a positive impact on the industry as a whole in 2022-23.
Some of the award winners (under various categories) were:
• Top Challengers: Welspun Enterprises, Capacit’e Infraprojects, Action Construction Equipment (ACE), GR Infraprojects, NCC, Ircon International, J Kumar, HG Infra, Anand Rathi, Ramky Infrastructure, Patel Engineering, and Timken India
• India’s Most Admired Brands: Schwing Stetter, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery, Toshiki Onishi, Ashoka Buildcon, L&T, L&T construction equipment and JCB
• ENR Awards: Yooshin Engineering Corporation, Egyptian Maintenance Co, Tractebel Engineering, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants, Shapoorji and Pallonji, Ircon International, Meinhardt Singapore, Tata Projects, L&T, Nippon Koei India, EGIS, Tata Consulting Engineers, and Dorsch Consult India.
Among Nomination Categories the following companies were recognised: Product Innovation of the Year – CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (Steel Slag Road Technology), Product Innovation of the Year – Verma Industries (Rejupave), CSR Company of the Year – SOBHA Limited, Construction Project of the Year – J. Kumar Infraprojects (Thane Creek Bridge Project), Construction Project of the Year – APCO
