Construction industry may touch $120 bln by 2012

New Delhi, May 27: Driven by a 15 per cent annual growth rate, domestic construction enterprise is projected to touch 120 billion dollars by 2012 with manpower requirements reaching over 900 lakh during the period.

''The sector is currently growing at 10 per cent per annum and has a size of 70 billion dollars but with the huge investment in the construction industry, tremendous growth opportunities are expected,'' industry body Assocham said here today.

It added that the investment in the sector is driven by growing requirements of areas such as transportation, power, urban infrastructure, housing and irrigation to ensure that the industry grows at the projected level.

''Mega Golden Quadrilateral and other highway projects, opening up of the infrastructure to private players, allowing 100 per cent FDI in real estate would be the other factors that will throw up fresh opportunities for construction companies to boost the growth pattern of the industry,'' Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot said.

According to the chamber, the Government aims to invest 150 billion dollars for infrastructure in the coming five to six years.

Apart from this, road (transport) sector will witness an investment of 60 billion dollars by 2010. While, there is a need to invest 50 billion dollars to install new telecom networks over the next eight to ten years and about 10 billion dollars for the modernisation of ports, it suggested.

The construction enterprise has potential to create direct and indirect employment opportunities for a huge number of people in the next five years, the industry chamber stated.

Currently, the industry offers about 30 million job opportunities for skilled and unskilled workforce.

In a paper on 'India's Construction Industry: Growth, Opportunities and Constraints,' Assocham said by 2012, India would absorb the manpower requirements of over 970 lakh man/years in specialised areas of engineers, technicians, contractors, supporting staff, skilled and unskilled workers.

India should enhance its productivity in view of the upcoming construction industry projects, especially for infrastructure, roads and highways, it added.

The civil aviation sector will also propel the growth of construction industry in view of air passenger traffic reaching new heights in two to three years, an investment of four billion dollars would be made in next decade.

The paper further added that the construction sector will require an investment of Rs 14 lakh crore over the next five to six years during the 11th plan and even thereafter.

UNI