On the Road to Recovery !

Quality of roads depends on many issues, opines Kamal Bali, President & CEO, LeeBoy India Construction Equipment Pvt Ltd. He elaborates, “In a study on the ‘Quality of Roads’ conducted by the World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey, India ranked 90 out of 139 countries. Considering that India’s freight transport relies excessively on roads which account for a higher share of freight traffic compared to other continental sized countries like the US and China, this is indeed a cause for alarm. While there is a focus on speed of road construction in India with a target of 20kms of road to be built per day, this has caused a shift of focus from the quality of these roads. With the current PPP models around the DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate & Transfer), it becomes extremely critical for companies to build hi-quality roads that reduce maintenance charges. Some basic issues leading to poor quality of roads are: Improper drainage leading to the development of potholes and cracks; inadequate soil compaction giving rise to structural defects thus leading to higher maintenance costs, and mechanisation & use of the correct equipment in the road construction process.”

He adds, “The imperative in the road construction industry is not just the pace but as importantly, quality. Increased mechanisation and technology in road building and maintenance have to be harnessed to not only substantially augment the pace of road-making but also, more importantly, the quality and longevity of our roads.”

In most of the cases, monsoon related road problems are man-made and we need not blame technology for that. Selection of right technology may be crucial for success in any case. Yes, maintenance is a major issue and it would require strict enforcement by the Authorities to ensure that proper and timely maintenance is done for better road conditions. We need to put greater emphasis on maintenance of assets once they are created.— K Naren Babu

Rohatgi is not the one to lament the lack of technology either, for according to him, India has access to the best technology. “I don’t think in India we are using any obsolete or inferior technology. The major difference is the quality, finishing and workmanship of output. The main issue here is the lack of demand for quality and poor quality assurance system in the construction industry.” Rohatgi feels that perhaps the incentive structure in the industry and existing procurement methods need to be made more performance based and user oriented.

Challenges:

Landing on tough road

So, low technology, despite the public perception, is not the issue here. If technology has entered India, and the companies are doing their best to use good equipment, where then does road infrastructure in India fail? What challenges does it face? Should we then look at delay in land acquisition, delay in financial closure, preference to quantity over quality as some experts have opined or, low mechanisation, substandard materials, shoddy work and unskilled labour?

We have made good progress especially in view of the Golden Quadrilateral project. The Indian road network, though extensive, still remains inadequate in terms of spread, and is unable to handle high traffic density at many places and has poor riding quality in some segments. However, having appreciated the need to augment the road infrastructure in a big way and reach tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well, the Government of India has initiated multi-pronged development schemes in this sector.— S S Raju

Says Bali, “Companies engaged in road infrastructure in India face the usual challenges of land acquisition, poor quality by sub-contractors, lack of single-window clearances, social concerns around displacement of people, environmental issues, limited financing options and an inadequate mechanisation of the road construction process amongst others. Given this, to also get an in-depth and first-hand insight into the customer’s world, LeeBoy India’s foray into the Indian market began with a series of intensive ‘Voice of customer’ sessions. These sessions helped assimilate invaluable insights into pain areas of the customers and identified gaps that exist in the Indian CE industry. What emerged from these was a realisation that there existed a huge disparity and divergence between the equipment manufacturers and the end users. Some of these key gaps were: An optimised machine at a competitive price that didn’t have unnecessary features and was customised for use in Indian conditions; an efficient after-sales service that took complete responsibility and ownership of the equipment through its lifecycle; access to know-how around product technology, application and industry knowledge; a pool of skilled manpower to operate the equipment and maximising the availability of equipment.”

While agreeing that “the greatest challenges remain the non availability of land for construction,” Raju also adds to the list “the L1 syndrome where irrespective of a company’s expertise, safety practices and qualification, the lower bidder gets the contract. Often at times, these new companies bid at unfeasible prices, not possible for reputed organisations investing in good quality material and high standards of safety and environment.”

Babu concurs, “Land acquisition (be it 50% or 80% commitment at financial closure stage, the issues are there for all to see), encroachment removal, change of scope, excessive time taken in its approval process and settlement of genuine claims (notwithstanding the issue relating to wrongful and bloated claims), unanticipated competing in roads/facilities due to any reason, no level playing field, unsustainable competition and political interference in land acquisition process are the major hurdles road infrastructure companies face.”