COMPACT ROAD EQUIPMENT MARKET TO GROW   -  Sep 3, 2016 Click here for More News

Developmental work in the North-East and far-flung rural areas will drive a robust growth of road building equipment, with a twist - the market for smaller-sized equipment to suit applications and delivery logistics requirements will be the gainer. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Bharat Mala and other ambitious plans for accelerating the rate of road building in India, backed by adequate fund allocations, explicitly indicate that the roads and highways sector is one of the first few sectors to witness an upward trend. Significant initiatives and programmes from the government have helped in the revival of the sector. The thrust on this sector could also be seen in the Union Budget as well - Rs 97,000 crore has been earmarked for roads, out of which Rs 19,000 crore is specifically for rural roads. In all these developments, road building equipment will play a major role, and suppliers and vendors are in a euphoric mood. But there are a few voices of apprehension. Anand Sundaresan, President, iCEMA, has voiced his concerns, in many forums like the Make in India Week and the recently concluded Bauma expo in Germany, regarding the size of road building and other construction equipment which will be required to cater to the implementation of extensive road development plans for the North-Eastern states and rural sectors. He has specifically mentioned that the current equipment sizes currently offered by the Indian vendors are not suitable for these far flung, sub-Himalayan regions. Simply put, the roads are smaller in these areas, and access is difficult, thereby rendering large-sized equipment unsuitable. Most road equipment vendors in India have a global footprint. They are now drawing from their stable of international product ranges, to meet the immediate or interim requirements, followed by plans to manufacture smaller-sized equipment from their India-based facilities. Equipment India Magazine