ON THE FAST TRACK: Finance Minister P.G.R. Sindhia at EXCON 2005 in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore: Reiterating the State Government's commitment to investing substantially in infrastructure projects, Minister for Industries and Finance P.G.R. Sindhia on Wednesday said over Rs. 20,000 crores will be invested across the State in various sectors such as roads, airports and power.

Inaugurating the third edition of the Indian construction equipment and construction technology trade fair, EXCON 2005, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Palace Grounds here, Mr. Sindhia said the Government has realised that investment in infrastructure will spur industrial growth.

Stating that the Government had not anticipated the kind of growth the State is witnessing, he said it is now finding it difficult to meet the infrastructure demands. Despite infrastructure problems, the State is set for a leap in industrial growth in the next five to 10 years, he said. Exports from Karnataka touched Rs. 62,000 crores last year, and investment by multinational corporations was over Rs. 80,000 crores.

Listing the projects lined up, Mr. Sindhia mentioned that the Bangalore international airport will become operational by December 2007, besides airports at Mysore, Hassan and Gulbarga. Similar developments are taking place in the railway sector with the Hassan-Bangalore broad-gauge line becoming a reality in the next three months and work on the Bangalore-Mangalore line progressing.

The State Government has entered into a partnership with the Centre to develop the railway network in the Karnataka. The construction equipment industry, he said, will stand to gain from these developments. Karnataka produces over 60 per cent of construction equipment in the country.

Growth

Giving a global perspective of the construction equipment industry, John Patterson, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of J.C. Bamford (JCB), said developed countries will grow by 15 per cent while the forecast for China and India is 35 and 30 per cent respectively. India, he added, will move up from 10th position in the top ten markets for construction equipment to 7th by 2010. "The potential here is limitless," he said.

`Remove red tape'

Calling for support from the Government, Mr. Patterson said less regulation, less bureaucracy, liberalisation of labour laws and reduction of import tariffs will help the industry, which in turn will accelerate the growth of infrastructure.

CII (Southern Region) Chairman R. Parasu Raman said infrastructure projects accounted for 54 to 60 per cent of the total construction activity in the country. The construction industry is worth about Rs. 16.6 billion, accounting for 5.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employing over 17.62 million people directly. India is expected to invest U.S. $200 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, thus opening up the construction sector to unprecedented growth. The country is also a potential outsourcing destination for construction equipment, he said.

CII-Karnataka Chairman Daljit Mirchandani said that by the end of the next decade, 50 per cent of India will live in urban areas, up from the present 30 per cent, and the demand for infrastructure will go up considerably. The Government is making an investment of $20 billion for urban infrastructure development in 60 cities with a million-plus population.

EXCON Chairman Sarosh J. Ghandy said that in the second edition of EXCON, business enquiries estimated at Rs. 580 crores were generated.

This time the figure is expected to touch Rs. 1,000 crores, he said.

There are about 170 exhibitors at the show with participation from 10 countries.

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