A bridge to somewhere

Taking off

From airports and ports to expressways, a few standout projects hold out hopes for the future.

Ask visiting corporate executives or dignitaries for their view on India’s prospects for economic growth, and the answer would inevitably run along these lines: “India has a burgeoning middle class with rising aspirations and spending power, which will boost consumptionoriented growth. But a lack of quality infrastructure in the country could be a big barrier to economic prosperity.” Indeed, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure that India’s infrastructure-creation lags woefully behind its growth potential.

Power demand outstrips supply by far, the road and highway network is creaking under the weight of mounting traffic, airports and ports are ill-equipped to deal with increasing movement of people and goods, and even telecom networks, though much more extensive than a decade ago, have still to spread thick into non-urban India.

The good news, however, is that inertia of the past is beginning to fade—very slowly, but at least it is beginning to. A host of delays notwithstanding, from airports and ports to expressways and rail systems, the process of world-class infrastructure creation has finally begun.

The private sector today has little qualms in opening its purse-strings liberally and pumping big investments into the high growth sector of infrastructure development. Engineering and construction majors like Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Construction Company and Punj Lloyd are taking the lead in developing integrated infrastructure.

More heartening is the trend of a number of smaller promoters making the transition from small-time contractors to major players in the booming build-operate-transfer sector. As the photographs on this page, of a few landmark projects, suggest, India Inc. is earning its spurs in creating world-class infrastructure.

Finding global majors with deep pockets and knowhow to back them isn’t a problem any more, what with every international engineering and construction major wanting a piece of the Indian action. Yet, it’s clearly very early days in the Indian infra saga. Plenty can go wrong, and is in fact going wrong. For now, though, let’s have one and a half cheers for what’s already on the ground.