Coimbatore: The construction industry should train its manpower to make it skilled for taking up major works, especially in the wake of the boom in economy and surge in investments in the infrastructure sector, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T.R. Baalu said here on Thursday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the five-day `Build Expo 2007' being organised by the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE), the Builders Association of India (BAI) and the Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (CODISSIA) on the CODISSIA Fair Grounds.

Mr. Baalu said India accounted for 10 out of 30 fast developing cities across the world. Indian economy was proving to be congenial for foreign investments.

Micro and macro parameters indicated the growth trajectory of the economy. The share market had turned buoyant after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government took over. Growth rate rose from 6 to 8 per cent. He expressed the confidence that it would touch 10 per cent by the end of 11th Plan period.

Foreign exchange reserves had surged to more than $161 billion from $44 billion. India's external debt burden fell from 28.7 per cent in 1990-91 to 17.3 per cent in 2004-05. The fiscal deficit had fallen from 5.9 to 3.8 per cent and the inflation had come down to 4.4 per cent from 5.4.

Mr. Baalu said the survival and success of the construction industry determined the prospects of many other raw material industries and also that of poor labourers.

On the need for formation of human capital for achieving the targeted growth, he pointed out that from 2,74,000 Information Technology professionals the number had grown to 16 lakh graduates in the IT sector, thanks to education infrastructure.

State Minister for Rural Industries Pongalur N. Palanisamy said the expo was well timed. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was scheduled to visit Coimbatore on February 24 to lay foundation for development works worth over Rs. 1,000 crore, including four IT park projects.

Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission of Tamil Nadu M. Naganathan released the fair directory. COINTEC president A.V. Varadarajan received the first copy.

Chairman of "Build Expo 2007" D. Balasundaram, Secretary V. Gopalakrishnan, Treasurer K. Chandrasekhar, CODISSIA President C. Muthusami, Chairman of ACCE Dhiresh Jayasi, Chairman of BAI G. Ramamoorthi and all-India Vice-President of BAI P. Jayapal spoke.

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