India’s construction-equipment sales grew 37% year-over-year in the first six months of 2016 and are expected to grow a further 20% this year, according to U.K.-based market analyst Off-Highway Research.
An array of factors, ranging from difficult terrain to political unrest, challenge contractors trying to build in the Himalayas and other difficult-to-reach locations.
Under steady conditions, global construction output is set to grow, on average, by nearly 4% annually for the next 15 years—reaching, in constant 2014 dollars, $17.5 trillion by 2030, says an expansive 15-year forecast by two U.K.-based consultants..
The blackout that swept through the northern and eastern regions of India on July 30 and 31 demonstrated the huge gap between growing demand for electricity and supply as well as political tensions between the state and central governments.
India’s power sector demonstrated a grave need for investment when the northern grid that supports a significant portion of the country’s population collapsed on July 30, tripping other shutdowns in the region.
Hydropower, which accounts for 33,320.80 MW of India’s total installed power capacity of 200,000 MW, still has undeveloped potential for an estimated 36 GW, says India's Central Electricity Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Power.
Reliance Industries Ltd., India's largest private sector company with annual revenues in excess of $66 billion, has begun construction of a $12-billion coke gasification plant.